A Murder At The Women's Center
by Where's Beckett
Summary: Number 7 in my "A Murder In..." Series Read them first Kate is assigned a series of murders that appear to relate to a women's maternity Center. She may have to go undercover to solve the crime
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Castle/Beckett or anyone else in this show**

 **Not my characters nor my TV show.**

 **I have decided to use other things for my inspiration.**

 **This is number 6 in my "Murder In The..." series**

 _ **Please read them to see how we got to where we are today**_

 **Kate is brought in to investigate the murders of several women. They all recently had children**

 **Guess who has to go undercover?**

 **A request from me: I do not write canon. My stories do not follow canon. I will drag a line or scene from the show but only if I think it fits my scene**

* * *

 **We begin with Beckett being about 5 months pregnant**

* * *

Sitting in their loft alone, Katherine Beckett-Castle is flipping pages, looking through a magazine she picked up on her way home this afternoon. A family and children magazine

"Raising the Perfect Child" is the title of the article she is glancing over. Since she has been with the police department she had determined that it does not matter how hard some parents try, the grown child will do whatever he or she wants to do no matter how much training and education the parents provide. Each person is responsible for their own life and life decisions.

Kate thinks about herself. She received a great upbringing. A firm foundation with both parents being in the legal profession She was destined to become a lawyer. That was the hopes of both her parents for her to become well respected in the legal world.

But today she is a detective instead. Some consider her job the complete opposite of being a lawyer. They consider an attorney as a person giving the voice of the less fortunate and helping them to have justice with the enforcement side, police, the enemy

But Kate sees herself as a person that brings justice to those whose voice has been totally silenced

As she is flipping from page to page, she gently passes her hand over her own growing stomach.

At a little past the half way point in her pregnancy her heart is so overwhelmed at her current life situation:

Happily married

Great job

Nice home

A tiny new life is growing inside her body

Just like her day job of protecting the citizens of New York, she is also responsible full time to protect this new child that she and the love of her life have made

There is a firm knock on her door. She drops her magazine on the table and moves barefoot to the entry.

She has reached the point in her pregnancy that certain body parts have either grown noticeably or have become swollen. Today the size of her shoes and boots have become a little too small to be comfortable. It feels so much better to leave them at the door the moment she arrives home and spend the rest of the day with only socks or slippers

Pulling the loft door open she sees her best friend on the other side holding a couple of sacks. One is the normal take out bag for a neighborhood sandwich shop and the other is obviously a bag from a package store

Holding up the-to go meal bag Lanie comments "I brought dinner from "Sandwich Heaven Deli I got you a hot pastrami on rye" she then holds up the other bag "And non-alcohol wine"

"That is so sweet of you Lanie" Kate's smile is honest. She is very glad to see her longtime friend. It has been a very long time since the two have had the chance to just sit, eat a take-out, drink (even without alcohol) and talk about their guys

Kate has already brought out the plates and napkins and placed them on the counter. Lanie is taking the wax paper wrapped meal and placed them on the plates. She reaches back into the bag and brings out two pickle spears and two bags of chips

"Kate, you should just get out paper plates instead of messing up the fancy stuff. I am just mere family here, you know?"

"Lanie, we don't even have a paper plate anywhere in the loft. Rick believes we should always be prepared to host out guests with our best foot forward"

"I bet you don't even have paper towel rolls?" Lanie chuckles

"Beckett smiles back "No, we do have paper towels, but they are for clean up only, not for serving guests. Cloth napkins only for that"

Lanie moves ahead of Beckett into the kitchen and locates the paper towel roll and pulls off a few sheets and places them down next to the plates "Your husband is out of town and he will never know"

Kate actually giggles at her best friend's comment "So true"

"When will your writer boy be back?"

"Writer man" Kate rubs her hand over her swelling stomach "I promise you, he is definitely a man"

Lanie nods her head

"He is due back tomorrow evening" Kate answers

"So what? He has been gone for what? Three days. You must be a little relieved to have a a little alone time?"

Kate can be seen turning red "Lanie!"

"What? Aren't you glad to not have him under foot for a little while?" Having a little time just to yourself for a few days?"

Kate is looking toward the bedroom door "Lanie…I miss him. I mean I miss him a lot. This has been the worst three days since Rick and I decided to break down that ignorant wall between us and be together"

"Are you telling me that you two are…?"

Kate answers "Inseparable"

"Wow Girlfriend. I have never seen you like this"

"I know"

"It must be the hormones. Pregnant women go through some crazy hormonal swings"

"I kind of think it is, but I don't want them to change. I sort of like being this way"

Beckett pause a few heartbeats "Before this book tour, Rick and I only spent that one night apart right after we got married"

Lanie laughs "Yeah and I remember you jumped on an airplane and flew to Texas and jumped him"

"Yeah I did and Lanie that is how we have been ever since"

"Girlfriend, you need a little time apart"

"Oh we have that. When I am at the precinct and he is home writing or at meetings"

"I mean like now. With him out of town, you get to do whatever you want and he does whatever he wants"

"Lanie, we have our personal time apart but after fighting our feelings for one another for over four years we knew that this…" Kate waves her hand around the room as if indicating their life together "is what is important"

"So the playboy woman chaser is gone for good?"

"Oh he still chases this one woman…sometimes"

"Kate Beckett you are so bad"

"I know. So how about you and Javi? Any movement on that story?"

"Not really. We have the occasional booty call but neither one of us has the feelings you and Rick seem to have. I wish we did but we just…"

"I understand" Beckett comments helping Lanie change the subject

"So Kate, back to you. You are glowing. Pregnancy looks good on you"

"Thank you. I feel so good. I thought it was going to be difficult but it is not. I mean other than the expected things"

"Like what?" Lanie asks

"The itching" Kate rubs her stomach "The swelling of my ankles. I am having trouble wearing my boots…"

"You need to switch to comfortable shoes for the duration"

"Yes, I know. Then there is my boobs" Kate rubs her chest

"Oh yeah!" Lanie laughs "They are beginning to grow a little...or more like a lot"

"A LITTLE? Hah!" Kate responds "I don't have a bra I can even wear comfortably right now. I need to go buy another one. I need a bigger one or go braless to work and I don't think police regulations allow that"

"Not to mention your husband not allowing his wife to be out in public sans her underwear"

Kate smiles thinking about the cruise ship and the scavenger hunt game where she removed her bra and went the rest of the day without it and how Rick reacted to that.

Kate looks down at her own chest "Well, I might grow as large as Joy Mason and then see how Rick reacts to that"

"Who's Joy Mason?" Lanie asks not knowing about the women from the Hamptons

"Never mind" Beckett smiles

"Well Kate I gather that Castle is still taking good care you?"

"Very good care. That is why I miss him so much right now" She stares off with a look on her face. Somewhere between sheer bliss and sadness at his absence "Lanie, he treats me like a queen. I want for nothing. He would buy me the moon if I asked. In fact he did. He bought a parcel on the moon and gave it to me for my birthday"

"That guy really loves you"

"And I love him…I did not know marriage could be so good. I heard of couples becoming boring after a short while together. You know? Going to the same two restaurants and only having sex on national holidays"

"But this is different?" Lanie is happy for her friend "No waiting for national holidays?"

"We make it a point to find one new restaurant each week to try and…Lanie, I could not be bored with Rick no matter what. He said that every day is a holiday somewhere…and if it isn't then he declares it our holiday"

Kate's cell phone rings. She looks over to the screen and sees the image of her husband and she smiles "Hey lover" the words tender "I am so missing you"

She listens for a few seconds then her face turns fire engine red. "Hey, Lanie is here…no she did not hear what you said and I am not repeating it to her"

Kate looks up from her phone. "Can I call you back in a little bit?"

"OK Love you too" Beckett disconnects her call

"I gather that Castle was telling you about what he was going to do to you when he gets home?"

Kate drops her head and covers her face to hide her blush

"And I am sure it was not doing anything bad" Lanie continues to chide her best friend

Kate ignores the comment and tries to get back to their conversation

"So Lanie have you got any good cases on the table?"

"Funny you should ask" the medical examiner side comes out "I got two unknown Jane Does arrived today. Both just partial skeletons"

"Not even a whole body?"

"No soft tissue at all, just bones. I estimate they were in the ground at least two years"

"Buried together?" Beckett asks as she puts her cop voice back on

"Same location but it appears they were buried at different times. Possibly years apart"

"How were they found?"

"Construction crew starting a new foundation for an office building came across the remains" Lanie answers

"Who has the case?" Kate is intrigued

"The 12th has the case. I don't think anyone has the assignment yet. I hope you get it. It's not like you need to run after some criminal in the field right now. This one is a lot of research and investigating done from the desk"

Kate laughs "Borrrrring"

"You need to take care of my niece or nephew…?" Lanie stops "By the way…which is it. A boy or a girl?"

"We haven't found out yet. I hope it's a boy for Rick. He deserves a son…" she then finishes her statement in a poem

"Ten Fingers

Ten Toes

Two Eyes

Two Ears

And a nose"

Beckett's cell phone rings. Caller Id says "Gates"

"Hello Captain…yes I will be in tomorrow, I can handle that case…see you then"

Kate drops her phone and looks at her best friend "I got the case"


	2. Chapter 2

The morning comes much too soon for Kate Beckett-Castle. She is starting to feel a little bit of the extra burden on her body. But since she has always kept herself in good health by proper eating and regular exercise she is able to push past any affects from the baby

She gets out of bed and grabs a fast shower. After drying off she throws on a t shirt and a loose pair of yoga pants. Actually some of the only wardrobe comfortably fitting her now.

Heading into the kitchen she pours herself a cup of decaffeinated coffee. She is so in need of shot of the real stuff, but her caring husband has somehow hidden the can from her snooping eyes.

It has almost become a game for the two of them. He makes real coffee for himself after she leaves for the precinct but only hands her the unleaded stuff

"So not fair" she can be heard to say

After a cup of non fat yogurt and a nice fresh peach she goes back into the bedroom, closet to select her clothing for the day. She realizes that she is going to have to break down an make a trip to the maternity shop to get clothes suitable for her condition

Just as she starts to browse into the selections that she can still wear, her tablet begins ringing. The sound tells her it is a Skype call. She sees the face of her husband on the display and she smiles

She pushes the accept button "Hey lover" are her first words to her man again this morning

"Are you alone or do I need to be careful about what I want to say to you right now?"

"I am alone but please…I don't need to hear things that you want to do with me when we are alone because I want that too but it is going to be hours before you can act on that promise. So can you just wait and promise me that I will be seeing my husband in person and face to face very soon?"

She sees his smile on her screen "Yes, I will be there by dinnertime. The book signing is set at lunchtime to early afternoon and I am already packed and ready to fly back immediately after the last fan leaves the store"

Kate has put the tablet down on a nearby table while she is searching through the closet. As she reaches up, the t-shirt she is wearing clings to her body and it seems a little tight in a couple of places

"Kate will you stop teasing me?"

She does not even glance over toward the table "What are you talking about?"

"You don't need to put balloons under your shirt like you did that time I was in Texas"

"I don't know what you are talking about" she replies then she looks down at herself. This is when she realizes that she is growing quite large and the t-shirt she is wearing is emphasizing the changes and looking like she has added some fake padding "OH!"

"That even looks real" Castle comments

Beckett looks at the tablet "It is real…" and with a note of embarrassment in her voice "I don't think I can even put on my bra now"

There is a slight gasp coming from the other end of her call

Not wanting to be embarrassed by more comments from the man on the other end of the line who is obviously having trouble dealing with her current apparel situation "Listen Castle, I need to finish getting ready. Let me go and I want you to know that I am so ready for you to come home…Love you…see you tonight…bye" and she punches the end button

She walks to the mirror in the closet and looks at herself and thinks 'How am I going to go out in public like this?'

She puts together a quick plan to wear layers to cover up the fact she has had to forego a vital piece of clothing this day. .

After getting herself dressed she takes her weapon from the lock box and grabs her bog and heads to the precinct thinking to herself 'I will definitely need to make a stop today at the maternity shop'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Richard Castle is sitting on the bed in the hotel just looking at his phone. He knows the rest of his day is going to be focused on his wife and she will be focused on her current clothing situation. Just before he can call her back, the driver is at the door to take him to a TV interview then an early lunch or late breakfast then to the book store then to the airport for the short trip home

His entire day will be spent with his wife as his central mental focus. Of course that is a good thing. His thoughts are focused on one women and one woman only.

When he arrives at the television station he is greeted by the producer who tells him he is the second guest. The first one is Ellie Monroe. He knows the name since he had met her once before and that turned out to be a disaster. He puts his full guard up today

Fortunately the show and interview goes quickly and everyone shakes hands and says their goodbyes in front of the cameras.

Castle turns to leave the stage when the woman's voice can be heard

"Rick! I have not has the chance to really apologize for my actions over the Nikki Heat thing a few years ago"

"That's OK Ellie. No harm"

"Well can I buy you a drink later and catch up?"

Unlike his former self who would have jumped at a chance to go out with a beautiful movie star, his reaction is different "No thank you. I will be back in New York tonight and I will be home with my lovely wife"

"Oh yes. I think I did hear about that. So you got married once more?"

"Yes. Very married" he responds while showing his ring

"How is that working out? I hear she is expecting. That can put a crimp in your love life"

Richard Castle has matured so much since meeting Kate "It is working out fantastic. I could not want for anything else. She is a wonderful wife and as far as my personal life. That is none of your business but I will tell you this. I am in need of nothing that she can't provide. She is the best wife a man could ask for. And you can quote me on that"

His reaction caught the suitor off guard

"And if you will excuse me I need to go finish my book signing and go home to my wife who is waiting for me"

He turns and leaves the stage and exits the building to the waiting car

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kate has arrived at the morgue and has gone in to the examination room to find Lanie getting ready to wash down one of the autopsy tables. When the ME sees Beckett pushing open the door she yells out to her best friend

"NO! You do not come in here right now. We just started the cleaning and you should not be around these chemicals. You stay outside and I will meet you in my office"

"Yes ma'am" Kate laughs back to her friend.

She goes to the office and waits for her best friend to come out.

"So, Lanie do you have anything for me on the two sets of remains you found? Cause of death?"

"COD was blunt force trauma to the head. Both were struck with a heavy object, possibly a hammer. You locate the weapon and I can match the marks. Besides that, I can tell you that they were both late twenties. Probably in relatively good health. They both showed signs of some earlier trauma. Non fatal but one had a broken arm that was healed and a fractured wrist on the opposite arm. The other had had a fractured cheekbone and missing teeth on the same side. Probably a facial injury…"

Beckett asks "Like being punched in the face?"

Lanie responds "And the arm fracture is consistent with being dragged by the arm"

She pauses to think "Either one of those victim's injuries separately would not mean anything…"

Beckett finishes "But two women with these type injuries both buried in the same location raises questions"

Lanie answers "Exactly. Anyway I sent out a request to other ME's to see if they had any victims that match this criteria. I will let you know if I hear anything back"

"Thanks, Lanie" Kate stands up to leave when her best friend just has to dig

"Having to hide the fact you are not wearing a bra today?"

Kate Beckett turns several shades of red "Is it that obvious? I tried to layer so no one would notice. I am going at lunch or after work to buy some new clothes"

Lanie laughs "I am your best friend and I have been around you for years, but don't forget I was there last night when you commented about the issue. It is normal for expectant mothers to put off buying the needed apparel as the body grows. But to make you feel better…No I don't think anyone will notice…You covered yourself well"

"Thank you"

Kate turns and leaves the morgue and heads for the station. As she gets into the car a text message appears 'Missing you. Looking forward to tonight'

'Me too' she answers then puts her car in gear and starts her drive to the precinct

When she arrives at her desk she places her bag into the drawer and her weapon in the usual space in the desk. She starts to take off her jacket then thinks better and decides that she will leave it on just in case someone's wandering eyes notices her current situation

She hears the voice of her captain "Detective Beckett, can I see you in my office?"

"Yes sir" Kate responds as she stands and walks toward the captain's private room. As she is stepping across the floor several other officers notice that her footsteps are quiet. She is not wearing her stilettos today. She has opted for a soft pair of flats

"Please sit down Lieutenant" as Captain Gates points to a chair located at a small table in the room. This table is normally used for witness interviews or simple conversations with officers

"How are you feeling Kate?"

"A little tired sometimes but I get a good rest at home. I am sleeping well at night and Castle makes sure I eat healthy"

"Oh I am sure of that. I see the only case you have now is the two Jane Doe's that Dr. Parish has in the morgue right now?"

"Yes Sir. I stopped by on my way in to get an update, but she is still working on her final report"

"Good" Gates responds "Now. Since you are coming up on six months we need to discuss your work schedule…"

Kate knew this was coming but she wanted to ignore it until absolutely necessary

"I am taking you off the On-Call rotation. You will only work day shift. No going out in the field chasing suspects. Those two" she points in the direction of Ryan and Esposito "Can do the take downs. I want you to do what you can from your desk until after the baby…you are coming back after the baby? Aren't you?"

Kate had not actually talked to Rick about how they were going to handle her maternity leave. How long she would stay off or if she would even go back in. She didn't have to go back to work now. Being married to Castle gives her all the financial comfort she needs besides the estate her mother left her.

"I would imagine that I will". Besides her family she has police in my veins "I am sure Rick can take care of our baby. This is not his first time doing this"

Beckett's cell phone rings. She looks to see that the call is form the ME's office. "This is probably about my case. I need to take this captain"

"Go ahead Kate. Let me know it I can help you with anything"

"Yes sir" Beckett stands up and as she walks out of the captain's office takes the call

"Beckett"

She listens for a minute

"Really?...how many?...where?..."

"OK send it over and I will get started on this. Thanks Lanie"

As she approaches her desk her two partners are waiting

Esposito asks the first question "Do you have something?"

"Yeah. Lanie put out a request for information and got back three other boroughs and other departments with similar cases. A total of 8 woman found buried. Several years between the oldest and the latest. And this is just the closest . We are waiting to hear from more distant departments"

"What is the connection?" Beckett asks

"Each victim seemed to have given birth recently. Lanie has requested the detail files of these victims. She should have them in the morning"

Ryan comments "It seems the common connection with these is having given birth. We need to find out where they gave birth and that might lead us to the killer"

The balance of the day is spent collecting the locations where children might have given birth and contacting them only to be told that the patient information is confidential and cannot be shared even with the police

At 5PM a frustrated Kate Beckett packs up her bag and gun and heads out to shop for some clothes that are suitable for her current condition. She walks to the elevator and when the doors open she is greeted by the smiling face of her husband

No time is wasted as she is pulled into the elevator cab, the door close and she and her man are locked together


	3. Chapter 3

After a warm and loving embrace and kisses Rick pulls back from his wife who does not seem to want to stop the current activity

"Kate, we promised not to make out in the station. Gates was very clear about the rules"

Kate leans her head into Castle's ear "I know but I have missed you so bad the last few days"

"I missed you too and that is why I came down to pick my wife up. I have a car service waiting outside"

The elevator door opens and the pair walk to the open waiting Towne Car.

Once the door closes and the car starts moving into traffic, she whispers in his ear "Good that way we can get home faster"

"Except I thought you said you needed to get some new clothes"

"I do but I would rather go home right now"

"Me too…but if I understand correctly you are having trouble wearing some of your clothes"

She has her arms wrapped around her husband "We can still wait to go shopping"

Castle pushes her back a small amount "Kate I am starting to feel some serious changes in you and even though I find your changes very enticing for me, I don't want my wife out in public unless she is, should we say, properly supported"

"Lanie has been talking to you. Hasn't she?" Kate pokes him in the chest very gently

"She is your best friend and just wanted to make sure you get some new items to wear. She told me about being at the loft last night"

Kate gives out a little huff

"I have already given the driver the address of the maturity shop. We will get what you need and head home"

She leans closer to his ear "Let's make it quick! I have other plans for later"

Castle pulls her to his side and she just settles there for the ride

When they arrive at the shop, the driver waits while the couple do a little shopping. Kate acts like someone on a mission. She moves from rack to rack…shelf to shelf, grabbing the first thing that catches her eye and placing it on the counter for checkout

"Kate. Slow down. We have plenty of time to shop. We can look around and select several items"

Kate pulls her husband behind a rack of blouses "Babe, I am not spending hours selecting clothes that I can come back later to buy when there is more time. I am getting just a few things absolutely necessary and then we are going home to make up for the last three days apart" she puts on a face he normally sees only when she has a suspect in the interrogation room and she pulling a confession from him "Understand?!"

"Yes ma'am" is all he can respond

The necessary items are selected and purchased in record time. The couple leaves the store carrying several very full bags. They drop the purchases in the trunk and get back into the rear of the car and are home very soon

When the door of the loft closes and the bags are dropped just inside the door. Castle turns toward Kate

"I will go make you some dinner and we can…"

His words are cut off by her face in his "We have something more important that I am hungry for"

He feels in a little teasing mood "And what would that be?"

Her lips are just a breath from at his when she answers "Peking Duck!"

Thirty minutes later, Castle is entering the kitchen and starting his prep for dinner. He takes out a fresh head of lettuce, some vine ripe tomatoes, cucumber, hard boiled eggs he made earlier, grated cheese, bacon crumbles and a homemade vinaigrette dressing he found in a recipe book a few years ago

He pulls out a bag of chicken he grilled earlier. He is making a nice healthy salad for the mother of his child

As he is combining the ingredients he feels a long pair of arms wrap themselves around him and a long body pressed into his back. Her head dropped to the space between his shoulder blades and a sound best described as the sound of a purring kitten can be heard

Even though this is not the first time she has done this, it is very different today. Her growing baby bump is definitely there along with another growing part of her body. He turns around in her arms

"I missed you Rick" she says to him

"I could tell" he chuckles a little. "Kate are you sure that it is safe for the baby that we keep doing what we were doing? I mean have you made sure we won't hurt the baby making love?"

She pulls her head back to get a better look into the eyes of her husband "What? Are you kidding me? You had a baby before. You should know that this is OK pretty much until I deliver. You know that…right?"

"Yeah but with Meredith we stopped having sex in the second month. She said it was bad for the baby"

Kate grins in his face "The doctor has told me we can keep on along as long as we are comfortable" She pauses then finishes her statement "You really stopped?"

"I guess she was not as interested as you are"

"HA! Interested? That is one way to put it"

The glee and love between these two pour out of their faces

"OK mister, you have food for the baby…and me?" she looks over the plates almost ready to serve

"Go sit down and I will have it ready in about two minutes"

Kate sits on the stool and leans into the counter watching Rick finish the meal.

After a very satisfying dinner Castle turns to his wife and she smiles "Rick while you are cleaning up the kitchen, I will go take the bags to the closet"

He looks at her "Don't pick up anything too heavy"

"Yes dear" she smiles back to Rick as she grabs the bags and disappears into the bedroom door

She opens the sacks and taking out each blouse and hangs them up on hangers and places the slacks on pant racks. She then takes out the new, larger, underwear they bought.

She stops as she pulls out the new bra that she had to buy. Chuckling at the cup size, she thinks about high school and how, back then, she wanted to be bigger. When she stopped growing she would just look at herself in the mirror and sigh thinking about the other more endowed girls who seemed to get all the attention from the popular boys. They were all more equipped than she was

Now she is feeling the effects of having more and glad she stopped blossoming when she did. After all her husband, the love of her life told her she was perfect just the way she was and didn't need any 'enhancements'.

.

She puts the bras away and closes the closet door and walks back into the living room. She sees Castle finishing up in the kitchen. He has taken two waters out of the refrigerator and a bowl of freshly washed grapes and approaches Kate

"You want to sit and talk for a while?" She asks "tell me all about your trip"

As Castle places the bottle in Kate's hand he sets down the grapes and the two get comfortable

Castle responds to her "My book signing was just the usual. Fans all telling me that they were my biggest fan. How they couldn't believe they were meeting me…the usual"

Mimicking the words he just spoke to her she leans into his side. "I'm your biggest fan…I can't believe I am meeting you right now"

"He puts his arm around her and kisses her hair "I can't believe I am with Nikki Heat. You know she is the hottest detective ever to grace the NYPD?"

He feels her sags just a little "Well she is not real hot right now. Her feet are swelling, her rear end has grown wider and her boobs…well let's just not talk about them"

He pulls her chin to look at him "Kate…you are still beautiful. You are glowing like I have never seen before and I am amazed. I am so lucky to even have you in my life…you are my wife…and now you are having our baby

"So the changes are not turning you off?"

"Are you kidding me? Kate this is just part of the 'Us' that I have wanted since I first met you. You are such a turn on"

She had her head on his chest "good" she says softly

"Good" he adds "Anyway, Joy Mason has nothing on you now"

He can feel her laugh as she pokes him in the chest

They sit quietly foe a few minutes then Castle returns to his original inquiry "Kate, tell me about your case"

"Well we are just getting started but we initially found two sets of remains. Both women and apparently Lanie says they recently gave birth"

"So you think a bad former boyfriend or husband?"

"That is the normal suspects, but we reached out to other departments and six more bodies had already been found all with blunt force trauma to the head"

"So too many women and too separated to be and ex?"

"Yeah. So the next thought is to locate the doctor but they don't let out their records…HEPA rules"

"What about jobs, support groups, clubs, church?"

"Working all those angles. Nothing so far but we are early in the investigation"

"Well I will come in tomorrow and see if I can add any of my expertise to the cases"

He can't see, but she is smiling "So what? You are an expert on pregnant women and maternity centers? Lots of time spent there with other women?""

"No. Only two experiences with pregnant women. One was strained and difficult but the other is turning out to be the greatest experience of my life"

She turns to press herself against him. "So the current one is going well?"

"The best"

She starts kissing him then looks in his eyes "Well if it so good, I think it is time for more Chinese …don't you?" She stands and starts pulling him toward their room

* * *

 **This was just a little fluff to set up the fact that these two are completely in love and together and nothing is going to come between that.**

 **But the case is going to put a strain on them**


	4. Chapter 4

After waking up, Beckett grabs a shower and goes looking in the closet to select something from the new wardrobe they picked out yesterday.

After she dresses, Kate Beckett is ready to start a new day. She is looking at herself in the full length mirror in the dressing room. She feels much better about herself now that she has some new clothes that fit properly but not completely at ease…yet.

She takes her badge and weapon from the lock box and places them on her belt. She looks again and decides that the hardware needs to be not in plain sight. A pregnant woman would not normally be carrying a 23

When he enters the kitchen she finds her husband has made her another healthy meal to begin her day.

"Hey babe" she says to her guy as she steps up beside him looking over his shoulder and putting a kiss on his cheek

He turns to look at his wife and mother of their child "Well, don't you look lovely this morning" he is appreciating the image before him "I love the new outfit"

She is still a little self conscious about her appearance "Do I look too…I don't know too big?"

"Kate, you look like a woman carrying a new life inside her and ready to go out and face the world" He turns to take her in his arms

"I have just never felt like this before" she remarks

"You have never been pregnant before…I mean have you?" he teases her a little

She pokes him softly in the chest "NO!"

"You like poking me…don't you?" Castle comments

She looks up to his face and with a tease in her voice "I believe you like to poke me too" causing him to choke

She looks at the plate he has put in front of her. A slice of wheat toast, fresh fruit, and a scrambled egg.

The coffee is still decaffeinated, however and the sneer on her face gives him a full view of how she feels about the drink

After she finished her breakfast she stands and gives her husband a goodbye kiss "Will I see you later at the precinct?"

"After I clean up, I need to finish the chapter I am working on and I will be there before lunch"

"Good. We can have lunch together. I will probably be very hungry by then" Then, after a pause, she turns to leave and gives her last comment before closing the door "I might want some food too"

She does not need to look back at Castle. She knows he has been left speechless

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Beckett leaves the loft garage and is on her way to the morgue to see Dr. Parish. Kate received a text this morning from the medical examiner about her cases and that there was some new information for the detective

She pulls into the parking space and as she gets out of the cruiser she hears the voice of one of her partners

"Beckett" Ryan calls her name

"Yeah Ryan"

"Did you hear the news about the victims?"

"No. I am just coming down to get the information from Lanie"

"All the women have recently had children and Lanie has been able to pull DNA from several of them"

"I thought we only had skeletal remains. No soft tissue"

"Lanie said she used the teeth. She has sent the samples out for full DNA profile. She said it might take a couple of weeks to get results"

"OK then. Head back to the precinct and I will be there shortly"

"You got it" Ryan answers as he walks toward his cruiser

Beckett enters the building and heads toward the morgue. When she gets to the main doors she looks through the windows she spots the ME. She knocks on the glass to get her attention.

Lanie acknowledges Beckett's presence and motions for her to go to the office and wait.

When Kate sits down beside Dr. Parish's desk she takes out her phone to read a message that just arrived

' _missing you already'_

She sends a message back to her husband _'at the morgue waiting to talk to Lanie. call me if you head to the station. Miss U 2'_

Just fifteen seconds later she gets his response _'LUV U'_

She rubs her finger across the screen.

'What did I do to have this man love me?' She wonders to herself 'And what did he do to make me love him?'

The office door opens and Dr. Lanie Parish enters the room "Well girlfriend! Do you look great or what?"

Kate drops her head to hide a slight blush that appears on her cheeks "You like my outfit?"

"It is very nice and you look beautiful. Did Castle pick it out?"

"Thanks Lanie, but no I selected this and several more on our way home last night. Anyway, what else do you have on our victims?"

"The two we found in Manhattan…we got preliminary DNA. Both white and one was probably blond with blue wyes. The other was a red head with blue eyes according to the DNA:

"Anything else about them?"

Not yet. I sent the profile to CODUS and am just waiting for a return"

"Were the two related? I mean they were found together or was there a match in the DNA"

"No. No familial match"

"What about the others? The ones from the other borough?"

"I got the other case files from the precincts where the bodies were found late yesterday and they did have samples to compare DNA. I sent those over to the lab for processing. They will have something tomorrow or the next day and I can add that profile to my search"

"Then you think we can start comparing the data by tomorrow afternoon?"

"Count on it" Lanie replies with a positive tone to her voice

Kate walks out of the morgue and back to her car. Just as she opens her door a voice she knows well is on the other side "Do you ever pick up hitchhikers?"

A smile fills her face "Only the ones I plan to take home with me" she tells her husband "What are you doing here? I thought you were doing a chapter before coming in"

"The story about the victims being women who had just given birth sounded more interesting that the dull and boring chapter I was going to write"

"How did you find me?" she asks as she is sitting down in the driver's seat and Rick is buckling his seatbelt

"I have your phone on active track just in case you need me. Remember I told you about that?"

"Yeah but I didn't know you already started using it"

"I need to make sure my favorite girl is safe and sound and if something happened I could locate you"

In her past having someone know her every move would have brought out gunplay and serious injury to the perpetrator, but now she just looks across the seat and smiles "that's sweet"

She puts her cruiser in gear and the pair starts toward the precinct.

"So, Kate what do you have on your victims?"

"Still too early but Lanie believes them to be mid twenties. She has a hair and eye color profile based on the DNA"

"So we go set up a murder board without pictures this time?"

"That about sizes it up"

Castle reaches over and places his hand on his wife's leg. He sees her smile down looking at his hand and she places her hand on top of his and intertwines her fingers "I wish we could go home for a few minutes" she comments

"Sorry. Wrong direction"

She huffs out "I know"

"Since you have a new case, I thought I could come in and help. It might give me food for my next Nikki Heat book. I am close to finishing this one and I need a new crime to start the next one"

"I am just getting started and don't have a lot yet"

"I think if you tell me all about your current case, I might help you tie things together. Wait! You are not going out chasing bad guys down dark alleys anymore…are you?"

"No babe. This case allows me to sit behind a desk and read reports and scan computer data"

"That is even more boring than watching you doing paperwork"

"When you married Nikki Heat you promised 'for better and for worst"

"I guess this falls into the worst times part?"

She smile then speaks "But the good times are really good"

"Yes they are" He pauses a minute "Tell me what you have so far"

"The two here in Manhattan had old injuries besides the cause of death. They all had just recently had children"

A change can be seen on his face "Maternity?"

"What?"

His heart is breaking thinking about these women who just gave birth and now will not see their children grow up and mature and these children that will never see their mother.

He looks over to the love of his life and with a wistful look on his face knowing his child will grow up knowing his mother as he and Kate raise their child together


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the morning went every uneventful. Castle helped by getting out the roll around white board and cleaned the surface of the last remnants of images ghosting from murders long since solved or relegated to the cold case squad

He starts by putting blank pieces pf paper up. Eight to be exact, representing the current known victims. On the bottom of each page he writes where the body was found. Then on the upper portion, leaving room to write the name for the person, if a name is found, he enters what data they do know. Where the body was found. Any evidence located nearby. Then finally the description based upon the DNA evidence

He looks back to his wife who is deeply engrossed in the computer screen where she is trying to locate any connections, but it is virtually impossible to make any progress with so little to start with

Castle walks back beside Kate and lays his hand on her shoulder. "You ready for lunch?

Without looking up she lays her hand on top of his, taking a hold of his fingers "Yeah, just one second"

He tries to pull his hand back but she grips his fingers and will not let him move away.

She finally releases lock she has on his hand and locks her computer workstation instead. She opens the desk and pulls out her bag then turns to her other partners "We are going to grab a bite of lunch. Be back in an hour"

"Got it boss" Ryan responds as the couple disappears into the elevator and the doors close

He looks over to Esposito "Do you think they will actually go somewhere close by to get some lunch or back to the loft for some afternoon delight?'

"My money is on them heading to a local no tell motel" Javier jokingly answers just as Beckett's desk phone rings

Ryan laughs "They think we don't know what they are doing" then he punches the button on his phone to capture her call "Detective Ryan" after only a moment "Hey Lanie" another short delay "Beckett just left for some lunchtime fun. I can tell her to call you when they get back or send her a message"

"I will send her a text and tell her to come see you when they finish"

He hangs up on the call and looks across the desk to Esposito "Lanie got a name on one of the victims and wants to get the information to Beckett"

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\

The trip to the loft is not fast enough for either of these two but they finally arrive and spend half an hour doing what these two have become very talented at.

"Well detective, I hope I was able to satisfy your lunch time menu wishes"

She places her head on his shoulder "Yes. Very satisfied…several times"

"I am glad my services were adequate to meet your needs"

"Castle, can we really keep doing this? I mean leaving every day. The guys will start to suspect what we are doing"

"I don't think they suspect anything" Castle speaks as he kisses her hair

"They are detectives you know. It's their job"

"Well. What if they do suspect? We are married and pregnant. This is how that pregnant part happened you know"

He feels her chuckle against his chest "I guess when you think about how we got caught in bed by so many family members in the beginning, having the boys assume we are doing this is no worse"

"They are probably betting on where we are right now" he comments

"They did bet on us in the beginning…you know, wondering when we were going to become a real couple and start dating" Kate responds

"I wonder who won that bet?" Castle states

She buries her face even deeper in his chest. A place he enjoys her being, very much

"Good question, but we do need to grab something to eat and get back to the precinct or we will be busted"

She pulls back and turns to get out of bed. "Yeah I know" Her movement has slowed a little. Each day as this becomes a slightly more difficult as she grows a little every hour

Kate looks at her fingers "Castle. My fingers are swelling. I need to take off my ring before I have a problem getting it on and off"

Castle looks at her finger and can see the ring will be cutting off circulation if she keeps wearing it "Since I put it on, I will take it off, then I can put it back when your finger return to normal" he gently, but with some difficulty removes the jewelry. She takes it from him and gets out her necklace that formerly contained her mother's ring and slides her wedding ring and and places it around her neck. She looks at Rick "This way it is close to my heart" and he gives him a soft kiss

Castle had prepared a lite and healthy lunch before he left the loft this morning and had it in the refrigerator for them to grab and return to the station.

When they get into the cruiser Kate reaches into her pocket and glances for messages on her phone. She sees a text from the precinct telling her to call Lanie and that the ME has something. She shows the phone to Castle then she turns the phone back and dials the morgue

After two rings the medical examiner answers "Hey girlfriend, when you leave the loft can you drop by the morgue? I have some things for you"

"Sure, on our way" Kate hangs up on the call

Castle looks over to his wife. "She said AFTER we leave the loft. She knows we are here"

Beckett looks straight ahead, puts the cruiser in gear and they head out into traffic without further comment.

Nothing is spoken between the couple as they head uptown to see Dr. Parish

As they open the doors to leave the car Beckett finally speaks "Not one word…you understand?"

"OK?"

When they arrive at Laine's office they see she is at her desk looking over some paperwork. Kate and Rick step into the room and Lanie keeps her head down and begins to speak. "Sorry to interrupt your little…" she glances up to see both the Castles entering, she goes silent

"Rick finishes the question "Interrupt what?"

Lanie drops her head back down "Nothing…I got a name on two victims now. One from there in Manhattan and one from the vic in the Bronx"

"OK" Beckett responds

Lanie continues "Victim number 1 from Manhattan's name is Ronda Abernathy 27 grew up in New Jersey" she hands a folder to Kate

"The second is Hanna Louis 20. She is a runaway from Illinois. Moline specifically" Lanie hands over a second folder

Beckett looks at the folders in her hands "This is a start. Is there anything special about either woman?"

"Nothing more than what I already gave you. Injuries on the first victim are consistent with abuse. The second has no injuries to the skeleton so I can't be sure. The Illinois State Police are sending their file on her. The NYPD records will be on your computer"

"Thanks Lanie" Beckett turns to leave and glares at her husband who has had a sneer ever since Lanie's opening comments

As the two walk out of the morgue Kate never looks from straight ahead "Shut up"

"I didn't say anything"

"Yeah! You didn't say anything very loudly"

The two get in the cruiser and as they pull out of the morgue parking lot. They both can be seen smiling to the other

When they arrive back at the precinct Kate goes directly to her computer and begins reading over the file Lanie sent while Castle takes the folders and begins filling in the information on their victims. He now has actual photographs to place on the board with names for two of the unknowns

Kate looks up from her computer as she hears Esposito walking up to the murder board

"I got more information on our vic number one. She was a server at the uptown bar and grill called 'Velocity'

Castle looks aback "I have been there. That is one of the cities most popular night spots. It has great food and the waitresses were really…" he looks toward his wife who has a glare beginning in her eyes

Kate looks up at her husband "OH! Really? How was it? When was it? Who was it?"

He tries to lighten the question "It was nice. Four years ago. A sales meeting with Black Pawn and all of their senior staff"

Esposito comments after Castle's answer "Well Ronda might have been your server. She was working there back then"

Looking at the photo again "No I don't remember her"

Kate has risen from her chair and is now standing beside her husband "Castle, are you sure? She is a pretty girl…you said they had really great waitresses. You positive you don't remember her?"

He looks over to Kate "positive" and she returns the smile

Beckett speaks back up "Let's go to Velocity and see what information we can get"

He looks over to Beckett "Kate, you know you are not supposed to go out in the field"

"Castle, I am not going to chase criminals. We are just going to interview a possible witness, gather information on our victim. I will be fine…and anyway you will be there to have my back" she pulls him by the arm as she takes her bag and they head to the elevator

Just as the couple exit the elevator cab, Castle's cell phone rings. He looks at the screen "It's the contractor"

"Castle" he listens for a second "WHAT? I will be right there"

He hangs up on the call "Barney ran into a little problem building the nursery and need me"

"Castle, you go ahead. I will be fine" Kate leans in and kisses Rick

"Are you sure" he asks

"Positive. Let me know if there are any problems I need to know about"

"OK" as Castle flags down a cab Beckett drives out in her cruiser


	6. Chapter 6

Richard Castle made a quick dash to the loft to meet up with the sub contractor working on the nursery for the new baby. There had not been a baby in this unit…ever. Alexis was walking before they moved here, so a nursery had to be built

Fortunately Castle had bought the building several years before and it was no problem taking a little more space from the area next to the study to create a safe place for a newborn to begin his new life

Once he arrived inside the loft the contractor sees Castle "Hey Rick we have a giant problem"

"What's the big problem Barney?"

"The main electrical panel for this unit is too small to handle the new space. It has no spare breakers. In fact it is too small for what you already have let alone adding these two rooms"

The two room being added were there nursery itself and a small bathroom to use to bathe the little one and a place to wash up after diaper changes

"So how much are we talking about?" Castle is obviously irritated that he had to come home for an issue that could have been addressed on the phone

Barney hands a paper over to Castle with the electrical contractor's bid. Rick does not hesitate and takes his pen out and signs the proposal, accepting the work "It that all?"

Taking the paper back Barney responds "Yes. That will do it"

Castle turns to rush back out so he can rejoin his wife

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Detective Beckett has arrived at the restaurant called Velocity. She pulls past the front where there is a valet to park the patron's vehicles. He tries to take Beckett's keys and hand her a claim ticket "Leave the car here" she directs the man as she shows her badge to him

"Yes officer" and he spins around and heads to the next vehicle in line. Beckett enters the front door where she is greeted by a very attractive woman in a very short, black dress. A lot of leg is present from the hem of the skirt. Obviously to please the men patrons who are usually paying the tab

Kate thinks about how she used to be able to wear such sexy attire but now that is in her past

"Welcome to Velocity. Can I help you?"

Kate presents her ID "I need to see the manager"

"Yes ma'am" the young woman states and she picks up the telephone on the desk and dials a number. While she is waiting, Kate looks around the building. There are crystal chandeliers, gold leaf on the walls. Rich oil paintings and other amenities making this a definite 5 star facility

Moments later a tall distinguished man walks up "Detective, I am Vincent Marcus. I am the general manager. I understand you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Mr. Marcus. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

"Yes" he points toward the hall leading towards the rest rooms "My office it this way" and they turn and walk to the door marked 'Private'

Once inside he steps around the desk and indicates for Beckett to sit across from him

"What can I do for the NYPD, Detective?"

Beckett reaches into her folder and presents a photograph of Ronda Abernathy to the man "Do you know this woman?"

He takes the picture "Yes, yes I do. Her name is Ronda. She used to work here but she disappeared a few years ago"

"What do you mean disappeared?" Beckett questions

"She just stopped showing up for work. One of the other women went to her apartment but she was not there. We never did find out what happened to her. Is she OK?"

"No. I am afraid not. Her remains were found at a construction site. We got DNA and tracked her here. This was her last place of employment "

He is still holding the picture and looking at the image. Beckett can sense that he is truly affected by the news

"Were you close to her?" thinking there might be a romantic connection

"UH? Yes! I mean No. No closer than I am to all the other employees here. I try to connect with each one at some level. In her case, I was like a father to her. She and I talked sometimes about her past. How she grew up. How she got here…"He glances at Beckett growing stomach "she was expecting you know? She was pregnant".

Beckett is interested in this revelation "She was already pregnant the last time you saw her?"

"Yeah. In fact she was close to delivering"

Wondering how an establishment such as this would use her in her condition "What was her job here?"

He hands the photo back to Beckett "She began as an assistant to a server. She would help watch for patrons needing water or drink refills. Assist in serving the meals and help prepare the table for the next guest"

"That is not the best paying job in a restaurant"

"The servers share their tips with the assistant servers. It's arranged to be fair and everyone does very well here"

Beckett is making notes as she continuing to take his statement "How well did she do?"

"We moved her up to server after she was here two years. We are not an inexpensive place to eat, detective, so the tips are very good. In fact many of our servers make upwards of five hundred dollars a night. I think she lived in a fairly nice place"

"What about after she got pregnant? That would be somewhat of a hard job for a pregnant woman" Beckett comments

"We let her continue as a server until we were afraid she might get hurt or hurt the baby, so we moved her to concierge"

"What did that require?"

"She greeted the guests. Walked around making sure the guest received the best service possible. We pride ourselves on the best food and the best service. And to do that we need someone watching over and seeing to the guest's every need"

"Did she do well at that?"

"She was great in that position"

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"It was a Thursday night. She said she had an appointment at the medical center the next morning and she went home early. We never saw her again"

"Do you know if she was married, or a boyfriend who was the baby's daddy?"

"The baby's father was killed in the middle east. He was a Navy Seal. She got pregnant on the night before he was deployed and he was killed on his first mission the very next week. She found out he had been killed the week before she discovered that she was expecting. She never got to tell him about the baby."

"Do you have an address for her?"

"Just her last known address the manager replies "Let me get that for you"

He leaves the room and is gone only a few minutes. While she is alone she has a chance to look around the office. The walls are covered with photographs of the staff. The manager is in all the images but the staff chances only slightly. Beckett notices that there are several employees in all the pictures from year to year.

She also notices a few books including one of the Derrick Storm books and a copy of Heat Wave on the credenza. He decides he must be a Castle fan

When Marcus re-enters the room he is holding a folder "We sent her W2 to the address we had but it came back" He hands the file over to Beckett

"May I take this with me? I will make sure you get it back"

"Of course. Whatever you need" he moves back to his desk "Detective, will you let me know what you find out about her. Several staff here would like to know"

Beckett stands "Yes, of course. Thank you Mr. Vincent"

As she turns to walk out she remembers a question she wanted answered "One more thing. She had some injuries that appeared to have been healed. Are you aware of anything that might have happened to her?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. We had a little accident in the kitchen and she was injured. Broke her arm and hit her cheek on a steel table"

"Was that reported?"

"Oh yes, we took her to the hospital and got her treated. Is that important?"

"Possibly and again thank you"

Beckett walks out of the office with information that completely changes everything she has suspected about this victim

As she steps out of the front door she sees a man, with his back to her, standing beside her cruiser. She recognizes the body of this guy very quick. She walks up behind him and leans into his ear.

"You planning on steeling the car mister?"

He jumps, not expecting his wife to sneak up behind him

"No just planning on kidnapping the driver and take her to diner"

"What if she doesn't want to go, yet? Got any other ideas to kill a little time?"

He reaches around her "I would love to, but the loft is filled with contractors at the moment. They have cut the new door in and the study is now filled with workers"

"Bummer" Kate responds. "Then I guess we can get some dinner then. Where do you want to go?"

"We promised each other at least one new place a week" Castle points to the door behind her "How about we try this one?"

Kate looks back over she shoulder "This is a VERY expensive place and you probably need reservations"

"Come on Kate" Castle starts pulling her "We can try and I can afford to give my girl and my baby whatever they want"

The two re enter the door. The same hostess is still at the desk "Detective? Did you forget something?"

Castle answers "No, I came to meet my wife and thought this might be a place we would like to try"

"Well I am sorry. But we only take reservations"

At that moment the manager steps back up to the counter "Is there a problem…?" he looks at Castle "Rick! Rick Castle?"

Kate looks at her husband then back to the manager "Castle. You know this man?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Marcus answers "I was formerly the manager at Drago and Rick was a regular"

"Marcus Vincent" Rick responds. When you left Drago, no one would tell me where you went"

"Here I am, Rick. So you know this detective?"

"Marcus, this beautiful woman is Kate Beckett. The finest detective in New York City. She is the model for my character, Nikki Heat…and most importantly my wife and mother of our soon to be born child"

"Well you know I am a big fan of your Storm books and when the Nikki Heat series began I was hooked again" he turns to the hostess "Take Mr. And Mrs. Castle to table one and see to it that everyone knows we have a famous guest in our midst"

"Yes sir. She turns to Rick and Kate "Right this way"

* * *

 **HA! HA!**

 **Everyone thought that her going here alone was going to be bad.**

 **Fooled you!**

 **Nothing bad happening**

 _ **HERE**_

 **But the story is still young**


	7. Chapter 7

The couple arrives at their table escorted by the sleek hostess that Kate had envied in the little black dress

She places a menu in each of their hands and tells them that Carlos will be their server and to enjoy their dinner

When Kate opens the menu, the first thing she notices is that there are no prices for any item

She leans over toward her husband "Castle. There are no prices"

He glances to his menu and sees that ever item has a price is clearly marked beside the description

Smiling at his wife "This is an old restaurateur's trick. The ladies menu is blank so she will not know the prices while the gentleman's menu has the necessary information"

Whispering again Kate continues asking "So how expensive is this place?"

Castle's response is intended to be humorous "Too expensive for a police detective to afford"

Beckett does not take the comment with the full level of glee that was intended "I could not afford this then? We need to leave!"

"Kate. I'll tell you what. If you feel so in need to pay your share of dinner, I will take care of this and we can figure out a way for you to pay me back later…when we are alone…at the loft"

Even though they have been married for a year and together longer as a couple and even before that as partners, he still gets her to laugh at some of his jokes

"So I have to put out to get a meal?"

"That's the deal. Take it or leave it"

"Deal" she responds with a touch of mirth on her face and mischief in her eyes

They return to the menus and make their selections. The picks are all set as five course meals. This would normally be a place they would go for a date night or a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary

Carlos steps up to the table "Mr. Castle…Mrs. Castle. I am Carlos, what would you like to drink?"

They both ask just for water

"Very good! I will let you make your selections and I will be right back" he responds then he steps away from the table

Minutes later a young lady arrives with the water and Carlos is right behind

"Have you two decided?" he asks

Kate picks the shrimp cocktail, lintel soup with a garden salad and the grilled chicken with herbs. Rick picks the same except his entrée is the rib-eye steak, medium

"Excellent choice" Carlos responds. "I will have this right out" and he again steps away

Minutes later the assistant arrives with the shrimp cocktails

As they begin eating Castle decides to broach the subject of what Kate found out about the victim "I gather that you found out something very different that you suspected"

She shakes her head "Very different. She was a respected employee of this restaurant. She started as an assistant server then moved up to server then after she got pregnant moved to concierge"

"What about the evidence of abuse?"

"She had an accident in the kitchen. They even took her to the hospital and got her treated"

"So there is no abusive husband or boyfriend?" Castle asks

"No. In fact Marcus told me the father of the baby was a Navy Seal and died in the war"

"So thinking this girl was troubles and abused…?"

"Was not the case"

"I wonder what we will find out about the others then?" Rick asks between bites

After the appetizers and the soup/salad courses have been served, the server brings out the main dish. Kate is already feeling very filled "I don't know if I can eat this, Castle"

"Kate, the chicken looks delicious"

She looks at her plate "OH…is smells so wonderful. I will eat some but we might have to get a to-go box"

"Oh. Don't forget, we still have the dessert coming"

"Are you TRYING to fatten me up?" She smiles toward her husband

"Just making sure little bean is well fed"

Just as they are finishing the meal, Marcus steps back to the table "So, how was everything?"

"It was marvelous. Thank you" Kate responds

"Yes. This is definitely a place we will be returning to"

"Thanks Rick. I have told the staff that anytime you arrive that there will be a table for you"

"Thank you again, Marcus"

"See you next time" he steps away from the couple

After paying the check, Rick and Kate go out to her cruiser "It's a good thing we are going home" she comments "I think I would fall asleep at my desk if I went back to the station. That meal was amazing"

As they get into their seats Castle comments "Not as amazing as the woman I was with"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Boring murder board" Castle comments while looking at the partially filled in magnetic white board with a limited amount of information. The most complete information is what Beckett gathered about Ronda Abernathy, the woman that they were sure was abused.

Kate looks at Castle "WHAT do you mean? Boring?"

He is sitting at the edge of her desk looking at the new information that she gathered from the visit at the restaurant Velocity. "We just don't have much to go on yet"

"We will" Kate remarks" The guys are out this morning following up on information we got on the second victim, Hanna Lewis. They contacted her family in New Jersey"

At this moment the two partners step up beside the desk Ryan begins "Our two known victims have very different pasts"

"Let me guess" Castle remarks "Rhonda grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. Had everything her heart could desire"

Ryan continues with his information "No, actually she was a troublemaker when she was young. She got into trouble with her parents and even the police in Chicago. That is how her DNA was in the system"

Beckett seems confused "But the manager at Velocity said she was a model citizen. According to her employer she had a great job. A loving fiancé. Did well for herself…I mean other than being pregnant"

"Right" Ryan answers "After she came to New York, she connected with another woman who wanted more for herself and the two connected. This woman convinced her to try and to do better"

"Where did this information come from?" Beckett asks

"We canvassed the apartment building where she was living. The manager remembered her. She said that when Robin moved, this other woman came by regularly. She was another troubled youth who wanted to do better. The two women were close friends. They had helped each other clean up their acts. The last time the manager saw Rhonda was the morning of her appointment at the doctor"

Beckett asks "Was that was the Friday morning after she was last seen at the restaurant?"

"That's it" Ryan answers

Esposito begins the next list of information "Our second victim is the one with the silver spoon in her mouth. She grew up in Paramus New Jersey. Her father was a wealthy business man. The owner of a manufacturing company. She went to the best schools and then moved to the city with her parents blessing. She came to New York to expand her horizons. She wanted to try to make it for herself"

Castle thrown out a comment "I guess that did not happen?"

"No. She got hooked up with a bad crowd. Drugs first then she got into prostitution. That is where her DNA got in the system. She was busted several times for soliciting" Esposito continues

Beckett is looking at the murder board as Castle is adding the notes "Where was she living?"

"An SRO is the Bowery. We went there and talked to the super. He was little help. He said she stopped paying rent. He took back the apartment. Dumped most of her stuff"

"Was he able to tell you ANYTHING about her life?" Castle asks

"He did say she got pregnant, from one of her tricks. Her pimp threw her out of his stable and the super thinks that is why she stopped paying for the unit. She was broke"

Beckett is thinking about something "How far along was she?"

"The super was not sure but he thinks over 8 months. Maybe close to term"

Castle looks at his wife "What are you thinking, Kate?"

"Two women. Both pregnant, close to term? What if these women did not go to a regular doctor and hospital and went to a maternity center instead. That would be a common place"

Castle looks harder at her "You think it is related to the baby?"


	8. Chapter 8

Long weeks pass with no movement on the murdered women found in shallow graves around the city.

Kate had kept herself busy, however, making sure all the paperwork on Ryan and Esposito's cases was filed quickly and accurately. In fact there was a congratulatory note sent from One PP noting that the 12th precinct was at the top of all stations in having their paperwork in on time and complete

Ryan walks up next to Beckett "Thanks boss. We got all kinds of kudos from downtown for being prompt completing the reports"

Beckett looks up at her partner "Yeah but the case closure rate has dropped to a four year low"

"That's because the department's finest two investigators are desk bound temporarily" The voice of her husband comes from behind Kate as he drops a cup of decaf coffee and a small sack in front of his bride

She smiles ever so gently "What's this?" looking at the sack

"A tiny reward for my lovely wife. The wife who has been so good in taking good care of herself and our baby. The wife who eats properly and never falls off the wagon"

Kate opens the sack to find a single pastry inside"

She has a laugh in her voice "A Cronut? Really?"

"You deserve it" he responds, then leans in very close to her ear "Anyway I wanted to be sure you to have all your strength when we go home for lunch"

Beckett looks down to her ever growing belly then back up to her husband and then she whispers "Are you sure you still want to do that?"

He chooses to break the rules against public display of affection and leans over and gives her a gentle kiss "We have not missed a day yet and I have no plans to start now"

She closes her eyes when he brushes her cheek and leans into his touch "I have another report to finish and the we can go to my doctor's appointment and then…" she smiles back up at him

"I will wait in the break room" and he walks away

Beckett completes the task in front of her and closes the file. Just as she is standing to go Detectives Ryan and Esposito walk back up to her desk

Ryan begins the report "We got a lead on another of the victims"

"How did you do that? We had no DNA or physical description to go on"

"We has uniforms canvasse several of the SROs in the area"

Esposito continues "We asked if they knew of any women who were expecting and near term and then disappeared"

Ryan finishes "And we got one" he looks at this notes "Mary Wilhite. She was living in a one room flat on 77th"

"The superintendent said he thought she was from the south. He said she had a deep accent. He thinks Georgia maybe"

"How long has she been missing?" Beckett asks

"He said about a year"

"What else did you find out? Like where she worked?"

"We got the name of a sandwich shop in midtown. Ryan and I were going to go just after lunch"

Kate acknowledges the statement as she is standing "Castle and I are going to my doctor's appointment then grab some lunch ourselves anyway. Why don't you let us take that" she pulls the paper from Ryan's hand "I want to get some time outside the station. I am going cabin fever crazy in here"

"You know you are not supposed to be investigating in the field" Esposito comments

"We are going to a sandwich shop. In the middle of the day and my husband will be with me…so it will be fine"

Kate turns and walks to the break room to get her husband "Hey babe, ready to go?"

"Yes I am" Castle answers as he stands then grabs his wife's arm and the two walk to the elevator

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

First stop of their outside trip is to Kate's doctor. When they enter the waiting room there are several other women patients present. All in the same condition as Kate. Some are yet to be showing but one looks like she might pop right there in the waiting room

It is only about ten minutes before Kate is called back to see the doctor. When she was younger her mother was always present during her physicals. When she came to maturity it was a very uncomfortable situation for her. Later in life, when she went to the doctor for check ups, she was alone. Always alone.

Now she is in an examination room wearing only a hospital gown with her husband sitting patiently beside her waiting for the doctor to arrive.

"Aren't you uncomfortable in here?" Kate asks of Rick

He takes her hand "No. I am not…well a little" he admits

"This is not so different for you. You had Alexis so this must be old hat for you"

"Meredith did not allow me to come into the examinations with her. She said it was too weird".

Kate looks at the man that picked her to be his wife and thanks her lucky stars that this is how her life is now. What she does not know is his feelings are identical when it comes to her

There is a gentle knock on the door and it opens to reveal Kate's OB/GYN, Dr. Polly Simpson" Hello Kate. How are you doing…oh hello Mr. Castle" she acknowledges Rick

Kate answers "Getting close to this" she pats her stomach "to come out and meet his mommy and daddy"

"Oh you having a boy?" she looks at the chart to see when that was determined

Castle answers first "No. We don't know. We are wanting it to be a surprise, so we asked not to be told"

The doctor glances at a few pages then smiles "How are you feeling, Kate" the doctor asks as she sits down on a stool beside the bed.

"Actually I feel great. I am more tired than I have been in the past"

"That's to be expected"

"I have to go to the bathroom a dozen times an hour" Beckett chuckles at her own comment

"That is also normal"

The doctor then goes on to ask several more questions of a far more personal nature. She then has Kate lay down and she examines her thoroughly.

After the doctor finishes she tells Kate that she and the baby are doing great. There are absolutely no problems with her or the child. Dr. Simpson tells Kate she can get dressed and go to check out and schedule her next appointment for two weeks

Castle notices the change in schedule "but we have been only coming once a month"

"She is only about six weeks from having a baby. I want to see her every two weeks until we deliver"

"OK" Rick seems very concerned about his wife and very nervous about how to ask the next question "So coming this close we need to alter our…uh…our alone romantic time?"

Dr. Simpson laughs at the question "No. Mr. Castle. You will not hurt the baby. You two can make love whenever the mood strikes you"

Richard Castle has never had to broach this subject "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am sure. Now…I will see you in two weeks" and the doctor leaves the room

Kate climbs down from the table, with Castle's help, and puts her clothes back on. The couple walks back out to the counter and schedule her next appointment.

Once outside the building and in her cruiser she turns the car and heads toward the loft

"Where are you going?" Rick asks "The sandwich shop is the other way"

A cheeky smile crosses her face "We have been having lunch meetings at home every day. Why are you asking?"

"The doctor said you are only six weeks from having a baby. We need to be careful"

"She also said we can keep doing this…so listen mister. I intend to keep doing this as long as I can"

"Yes ma'am" he responds with a smile on his face

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\

'Dot's Sandwiches' is a quant small shop with a small but varied menu of hand held dinner faire. Once inside they notice only two patrons at the counter waiting for their orders. The crew behind the counter are moving like ants getting the customer's orders prepared

When Beckett arrives at the order point the young girl smiles "What can I get you today?"

"A six inch Italian on wheat and my husband wants ham and cheese on white"

Beckett holds up her badge "and the owner"

The clerk goes to the back to get the owner as her associate makes the two sandwiches for Castle and Beckett

An older lady arrives at the front "I am Dot, the owner, what can I do for you?"

"I am Detective Kate Beckett NYPD and I am investigating the death of one of your employees, Mary Wilhite"

The woman has a shocked look on her face "Mary's?.…Mary's dead? What happened?"

"We found her body a month ago but we just identified her. What can you tell me about her?"

"Uh! She…I don't know a lot about her. She kept quiet about where she came from. She never talked about her family. I assumed she did not have anyone"

"Was she expecting when she worked here?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Dot asks

"Do you know who the father was?"

"She never talked much about him. She only said he was not in the picture. If you want to know more, I can give you the name of her friend. Another woman who had been like a sister to her"

"That would be great" Beckett responds just as their sandwiches are finished

The owner returns with a note containing a name and phone number "This was Mary's emergency contact"

"Thank you" Beckett responds "Oh, one more thing. We did not find a tax return for Mary. How long did she work here?"

The shop owner reacts like someone with a secret "I…uh, paid her off the books. She had no insurance and was getting relief. If I started reporting her income, she would have lost that and the pay was not enough to live on but neither was the public assistance"

"So how did she afford medical care?"

"She went to a woman's clinic in midtown that provides some care for those without insurance"

"A public clinic?" Castle asks

"No it takes regular paying patients but they also provide services for those who can't pay"

"Do you know the name of this clinic?"

The woman thinks for a moment "Yes. It was Mid City Clinic"

"OK" Beckett responds "Thank you"

Beckett and Castle go back to the cruiser and return to the precinct


	9. Chapter 9

**A Short filler moving toward the place everyone know this is headed**

* * *

Upon their return to the station, Kate goes immediately to the rest room. Castle takes her bag and goes to her desk to wait for her return.

He sets her bag on top of her desk then he looks at the murder board. The same murder board with no changes since the last time he looked.

A few minutes after he has settled into his usual place his wife comes out of the women's room and returns to her desk. "Almost didn't make it that time" She has a chuckle in her voice "Little bean is pushing harder on the bladder every day"

Rick smiles at her statement "Just a month and a half until that issue is settled"

She sits at the desk and takes her shoes off "And my feet are aching so bad, I may have to go home and soak my feet in hot water"

He looks across the desk at his wife "When we go home I will take care of that"

Her thoughts travel down a hormone driven road 'I might just have to stay pregnant so he will continue to do this for me'

Then her mind snaps back to reality "I wonder if Lanie has any new information for us" Kate picks up her phone and call the morgue.

When the ME answers Beckett can tell she has something "Hey girlfriend. I am so glad you called. I have the name of a third victim. This came from the NCIC national database. A missing person from California, Anne Valis. The DNA was a match.

"What do you have on the baby's father?" Beckett asks

"That is where this story goes bad. She had gotten herself into a bad crowd"

"What kind of bad crowd?" Castle asks

"She got into the movie industry"

"That's not normally a bad crowd" Kate responds

"This type movie is…" Lanie pauses in her answer "It is the adult movie industry"

"Does that relate to her disappearance?"

Dr. Parish's answer catches them off guard "Not exactly. She got pregnant on a film shoot. A shoot where there were multiple partners and no one knows who the father was"

"I wonder if the movie company can give us the names" Beckett questions

"There was a police report made where she tried to claim sexual assault but the movie company has really good lawyers and since there was an iron clad contract that she signed, the case was dropped and the movie studio has already closed so we have no way to get that information"

Castle comments "Except we could find a copy of the video and watch it and get the names"

Beckett glares at her husband "That is NOT going to happen"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Early in the morning Lieutenant Kate Beckett is sitting at her desk just blankly looking at the murder board. Her two partners were out canvassing a possible lead on one more of the victims. A missing person's report from over a year ago in Brooklyn.

It was a report from a neighbor that the woman in the apartment across the hall had disappeared but because she was not a relative and had no family information so it was not given a high priority. There was a simple contact report made with no follow up. The two detectives left a message for the responding officer to call the 12th if he happened to remember anything about the case

Richard Castle is leaving the elevator and walking toward his wife. He is holding a cup of decaf coffee and, for her, a healthy muffin. He had stopped, as usual, on his way in for pastries for the guys and another morning pleasure for his Kate

When he walks up beside her desk he can see the look on her face he knows so well. The look telling him she has come to a halt in her theory building

He leans over to kiss her cheek and hands her the muffin he brought "At a dead end?"

"Yeah. We have several dead women, they all recently had babies, no connections to each other. Nothing at work, social circles, or history. One woman was troubled in her youth. One grew up in a good home. One in a troubled home. One got involved in the adult film industry. The only thing we have found in common, is there was no man in their lives. The baby's daddy was not around"

"Maybe that's it. The men were part of a group fighting for father's rights and when they discovered they were going to be fathers but the mothers were keeping them away from their children, they took the babies and killed the mothers"

Kate turns her head and has 'The Look' on her face. The look he knows so very well. The look that tells him that she is NOT interested in him continuing with that train of thought

"I am sure there is a jilted father's club out there with a hit man on call" she comments

"Well not THAT aggressive, but maybe there is a group like that. Men that are looking for their children It's possible"

Kate looks back to the white board "One problem, Ronda Abernathy's baby's father is dead. He was killed in action in the war"

"Humph" Castle retorts. He sits thinking again trying to come up with an even more outrageous theory

"Don't say it was aliens"

"It's possible. They completed their abducting people and doing experiments on them and these babies were…" he is cut off

"Castle! They were not taken by aliens and the mothers killed because the babies were part alien"

"That is what Mulder discovered on X-files. Half breed children. These may actually be the proof that…" He looks back at the murder board.

"Castle! This is not X-files" she interrupts before his theory goes completely off the rails. But the truth is there has not had much information added in several days

"We could really use something new" Castle comments

The voice of Detective Ryan can be heard as he steps up "We have more to add to this"

"What did you do?" Beckett asks

Ryan answers "We put it out on the blotter to all precincts we were looking for reports of missing pregnant women going back into the time window and specifically the name Lanie found"

Esposito completes the answer "And we got several responses from different units and one, so far, has paid off. A uniform took a report from a woman who was reporting her neighbor missing"

Kevin Ryan continues with the information "The neighbor that said the woman across the hall disappeared about 14 months ago"

"Her name was Melody Murphy. She was 19 and was pregnant…and she just vanished" Ryan adds

"So ALL these women were pregnant at the time they disappeared" Castle questions "That has to be the common denominator"

"Yeah but how can we find out what happened to them. We tried to get the first clinic that Mary Wilhite went to give us the information and they stood firm that they could not divulge anything about a patient without a warrant but the judge would not give us a warrant without more evidence" Beckett comments

"What about now" Castle asks while looking at Ryan and Esposito" Where were these other women going?"

"No one seems to know"

Beckett's desk phone rings. When she answers there is an officer from the precinct in Brooklyn that had reported the woman Melody Murphy "Yes Officer O'Malley." Kate listens a minute "That is helpful information. Thank you"

She hangs up on the call and looks up at the three men around her desk "That was the officer that answered the original call on Murphy. He remembered seeing a brochure on her dresser. It was a patient booklet from the Mid City Clinic. The said he thinks it is a women's center


	10. Chapter 10

Every little girl has dreams. Dreams that include finding her Prince Charming. Being swept off her feet by him and carried away to his castle in his ruby-red and jeweled carriage

Kate Beckett never knew that her prince charming would be named Castle and that he would be driving a Red Ferrari as his carriage

Little girls play with doll houses because they dream of having a beautiful home to live in when they grow up.

Kate Beckett never imagined having the home he has provided for her and also the vacation home out on the island

Little girls play with dolls because they dream of being a mother with a baby when they grow up

Little Kate Beckett never imagined what becoming a mother required of her. But now she does. Tired legs, large belly and sore and swollen feet

But Kate Beckett also never knew how nice it would be to have a husband that would love her as deeply as her husband does and be willing to take care of her.

He stays with her at the station all day even when she is doing boring paperwork. He brings her coffee, even though it is decaf but he also brings her a healthy snack.

He also will not let her lift anything. Or do any stressful work

And then, when they finally get to go home, he pampers her.

As soon as they enter the loft door, he makes her sit down on the couch and remove her shoes. He gets her a bottle of water and while dinner is cooking in the oven, he massages her feet. This action on his part is sheer bliss to her. He seems to know the exact spot she needs touching before she does

After taking care of the soles of her feet, he transfers his hands up to her ankles and moves up her leg massaging the muscles of her calf and continues toward her knees.

In the past that amount of touching would have lead to a quick trip to the bedroom, but for today he lets her relax on the couch until dinner is ready.

She is almost asleep when she hears the ding of the oven timer announcing their dinner is ready

After he has served her, he helps her draw a bath, Helps her take off her attire and then assists her in climbing into the tub. She looks up at her husband is still sees his love for her in his entire face

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I love you"

She is feeling a little blue. "Right now there is a lot to love. Between my swollen boobs to my oversized rear end" then she looks at her ever growing belly "I must look like a blimp. How can you still love me?"

He kneels down beside the tub "You look like my wife carrying our baby for us to love and raise. And my love for you goes way beyond the physical. I love all of you. Especially the part between your ears"

A soft smile leaves her face

Then she looks up to see his blue eyes have traveled a little south of her face "You ARE staring at my boobs"

"UH…well…I uh…I need to go clean up" Castle stand back up "After I clean up the kitchen then I will come back to help get you out. You do not try to get out of the tub without me. OK?"

She smiles gently as she softly responds "OK"

He rushes out of the room

Kate washes herself as much as she can. It has become more difficult to get all of her legs and feet but she does what she can. She leans back and just allows herself to relax when she hears the sound of her husband coming back in

"What can I help you with?"

She pulls a leg out of the water "My legs and feet. I can't reach them anymore…then my back"

Castle pulls up a stool and takes a wash cloth, soaps it. He begins with her back then she lays back and he takes his time cleansing her limbs.

"You know Kate, I have always loved your legs?"

"Well the sooner as you finish washing them, the sooner we can go into the bedroom and let me use them on you"

He chokes trying to catch his breath

He stops in his washing "Kate I wonder if our victims had someone to assist them in their daily routines like this. You know to help them with laundry or housekeeping?"

She sits up straight in the tub. "It would make sense. Everything says these women were alone. I wonder if there was a friend or neighbor close enough that they knew the victims well enough and were willing to does these kind of things"

Castle looks at Kate "Didn't' someone tell us that the first victim we identified had someone they were close to?"

"Yeah. The manager at the restaurant said that Robin was close with a women who helped her clean up her life"

"Did you hear that there was a neighbor of the second woman, Hanna Lewis had a neighbor close enough to worry about her"

"Tomorrow I will pull the contact reports again and look for their names"

Castle has stood up and grabbed a towel for Kate. He helps her stand and he helps her dry off.

Still wrapped in her towel Kate walks into the bedroom. She stops and looks at the bed and her heart sinks. She is positive that Rick is not interested in making love with her anymore due to her condition. This is when she feels him step up behind her and wrap his arms around her and the baby.

She places her arms around his and pulls his hands up higher to her chest

"Are you positive we will not hurt the baby?"

She leans her head back into his shoulder "Not only will you not hurt the baby, but you will make his mother very happy" The towel drops to the floor

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle and Beckett arrive on the precinct floor just minutes after her two partners have

"Did you pull those interview cards from our victims?" Beckett asks

Ryan answers "We did and we found something very interesting"

"What's that, Ryan?" Castle questions

"Each one indicates that the victims were all going to the Mid city Women's Center"

"That's it" Castle exclaims "The murders are related to the place where they had their babies"

Captain Gates has stepped up beside the team and is listening intently in the conversation "Detective you should be able to get a warrant for their records now"

Kate Beckett has picked up her phone and called into Judge Markowitz's office. The guys all listen as she gives her most emotional plea for a warrant. After several minutes her face can be seen to drop "Yes sir. I understand" she drops the handset down on the cradle with disgust

"He said No. No warrant for medical records. HIPA rules preclude us getting an open door into the files"

Esposito looks angry "So. What do we do now? Let whoever keep killing these women?"

Gates look to the team "No. We need to go undercover and fish out a suspect"

"But sir? Who could go inside? They will know if an undercover officer went in pretending to be pregnant: Ryan states

"Then we need an officer who has done undercover and is pregnant" She looks at Beckett

Castle stand up beside his wife "OH! NO! That is not happening"

Beckett takes Castle's hand "Rick. Don't worry.. You and all the guys will have my back"

"OK then I will go with you"

"No. Wait, Mr. Castle". Gates responds "The other women had no man in their life. The father was either deceased of totally out of the picture. This is probably why they were singled out. We will give Kate all the back up we can"

Kate squeezes Castle's fingers tightly "I will be fine"

* * *

 **OH What a terrible place to leave everyone on the weekend.**

 **Sorry**


	11. Chapter 11

Richard Castle and his very pregnant detective wife have gone to the surveillance technology center to arrange some electronic protection for Beckett.

Normally an undercover officer does not have anything on them such as a gun or identification but this situation is different.

Very Different

Beckett is a cop.

Beckett is a real cop.

A real cop who is also pregnant.

A real pregnant cop that needs to go undercover but at the same time be under the watchful eyes of her partners and husband

A Technical specialist has brought some items into her office to arrange for Beckett to go under cover with a lot of protection around her

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, I am specialist Sargent Carrie Hamm and I will be setting you up for your upcoming deployment, detective. I have been briefed about your condition and why you were picked for this assignment. I have some very special electronic coverage for your assignment."

Castle takes the opportunity to let the officer know his feelings on this assignment "Sargent Hamm. Kate is the most important thing in my life and I do not want her in danger"

"Mr. Castle. I understand and that is why we have gone beyond any prior case in the level of protection we are using with Detective Becket"

"Call me Kate and what are you doing different here?" Kate looks at her very distressed husband "I have done undercover before and I usually had nothing special"

"This time is different. Not only are you very obviously pregnant, you are going into an unknown situation with little preliminary information and we have been give specific instructions from high up that we do everything possible to see that you will come out just fine. So we will be doing just that."

Castle has calmed down only a little

Sargent Hamm continues "We have created a back story for you. Abusive ex boyfriend. He is in jail in Oregon. We feel like whoever this is will not dig into the back story very much, but if they do, there is a guy with that name in prison for spousal abuse"

"That's good" Kate responds

"We are assuming you will be treated like any other patient in the facility which includes examinations. So we cannot give you the usual eves dropping wireless microphone or camera. And you definitely will not have your service weapon"

"OK?" Kate responds with a little question in her voice "So what do you plan to do?"

"We are going to wire your bra. We have taken a standard maternity bra and sewn in a microphone and transmitter. We have also made a pouch for your personal cell phone"

"Why don't I just carry my own phone?"

"Your personal cell is a much too expensive a phone for a woman who is virtually destitute and living in a flop house. Not to mention if it were looked at it has several police and personal phone numbers in the contacts list. We will give you a cheap throw away type phone that looks like it came from a second hand store or an emergency only 911 phone. This is the type phone a woman alone in the city and on the street would probably would carry. The phone has an emergency button. You push the menu button three times and it signals the surveillance van to respond"

"What if she can't reach her phone?" Castle asks

"We also have panic button in her key ring"

"OK" he states, still with concern in his voice

Kate is looking at the bra that has the attachments and pouch "So whenever I go to the clinic I will wear this one instead of my own?"

"Yes. And we also have a set of clothes for you at the SRO you will be staying in"

Beckett's head snaps up "What do you mean living in? I live with my husband in SOHO"

"Not for a little while. You need to have a place where the perp can find you. This particular building is owned by the city. We use it for sting operations. The rooms are wired for sound and video"

"Wait a minute" Castle reacts "If I am going to let this happen, I want my wife at my side and we need our privacy"

Looking at Beckett "We have arranged the adjoining room for your husband to stay. That room is the surveillance room. This way if you get a visitor, he can stay in hiding while you go back into your room just next door"

Becket nods her head acknowledging her understanding of how this will flow

Castle still has some reservation but he trusts Kate and the lengths they seem to have gone to in her protection

Hamm continues "We have already placed the clothes in the room. Cameras have been set up on the hallway…" she then looks at Rick "and not inside your room"

"OK?" Beckett is looking at the bra. Can you put a holster on the other side for my 23?"

She has a smile with her question

The tech specialist laughs at the comment. I think you would have a problem hiding a weapon that large….but…"She takes back the bra and is looking at the straps "we might be able to put holster in for a small .380 or derringer in there" she points to the opposite side from the cell phone pouch.

"What else do I need to know?" Beckett asks

"We have a surveillance van that is made to look like a telephone service truck. Complete with all the usual traffic cones and ladders. This way it looks like a cable splicer truck. The type truck that would be there day after day"

"What about my partners? Ryan and Esposito?"

"They will be the primary officers in the van. We also have a setup for your trip to and from the center. You will ride the bus. The stop is right in front. You will get on the bus two stops before the center. That way you will arrive on public transportation when you arrive. There will be one of your fellow officers from the 12th travelling with you and will also have another get on the bus with you when you leave. We also have an officer inside working at the janitorial service. He will be inside whenever you are .He will have your back on the inside and your partners on the outside"

Beckett is holding the bra and cell phone then looks up to Rick." It looks like they have covered everything"

He reaches over to her hand then looks up at the Sargent and with a tone still filled with concern "They better have every possible base covered"

"We do. There is one more thing we need to make sure about. We want you to know that we have Kate's and the baby's health on the top of our priority list" She looks again at Beckett "We want you to have an examination before this starts. That way we know for sure that all is well with you and the baby"

"We just went to the doctor and she is doing great" Castle responds

"Very good. Then let's get you out of here and begin the undercover"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That night is spent in a SRO that is where Beckett and Castle normally find dead bodies or the suspects. They know this building is more than just a SRO for rent. When they enter Beckett's room. It looks very normal for this lower class living facility.

But they enter the adjacent room, they find very different surroundings. It is lighter. Better furniture. A desk for his computer. A television and land line telephone. And a nice bed. The front wall is covered with monitors showing every entrance and hallway in the building along with cameras in the rooms where the police set up sting operations

"I think this is not how any other room is set up in this facility" Castle comments"

Kate has a look of surprise on her face "I am sure. I did not know the department had a place like this?". Then she makes the statement "A front the department uses for special activities"

"We can start our own special activity" Castle responds as he reaches out and turns Kate toward himself and pulls her into his chest "This will not be as bad as I thought it would be"

She puts her arms around him "Oh! You know what? We can act like we are out having a salacious liaison. You know we are two people meeting up in a cheap motel…"

Since she no longer wears her heels, she starts pulling him down to her level and begins munching on his face

He gladly returns the sensation to her and his arms start sliding up across her body. He begins moving his hands up her back inside her top toward the clasp of her bra then stops suddenly and pulls his hand out from under her blouse

She does not like him stopping so suddenly "Castle! What are you doing? Take my bra off"

"No! Wait"

"What do you mean NO!?"

"Did you ever see the Matt Helm movies from the 60's?"

"No. Why?"

The main character was a playboy spy. His cover was he was a high fashion photographer and woman chaser"

"OK so what does that have to do with you not taking my clothes off?"

"During a training session he tries to remove the bra of another agent and her bra has a gun inside and he gets shot. I don't want to be shot by your bra"

She takes his arm and pulls it around her, back under her blouse, and up to the clasp "Don't worry. You will only be shot if you stop again and it will by me shooting you…Understand?"

"Yes Ma'am"

When they climb into the smaller bed in the room, Kate looks at Rick "This should not take long"

"As long as you and the baby are both OK. That is what I want"

* * *

 **Ir looks lie the department has thought of everything...**

 **Or did they?**


	12. Chapter 12

**I honestly do not know how I was able to write this**

* * *

The next morning, Detective Kate Beckett rides the 812 bus route to the stop just in front of the women's center. When she steps off the bus her fellow officer who was riding with her does also but he moves away as if he does not care what she does next. She can see another officer she knows sitting at a bench in front of the building reading a paper.

Her first trip to the women's center, but with her visual confirmation of the officers around her whose only job is to protect her, she feels very confident that her safety is assured. She enters the building feeling well protected

She steps up to the registration counter. The woman behind the desk finally looks to see her there. Kate looks like a homeless person. The department has given her some treatment for her hair that makes her normally beautiful locks look dirty and mousy. She also has some special theater makeup to give her face an aged appearance, making her look older and less physically healthy.

"Can I help you?" The young woman asks

"Yes. I am Kay Houghton and I have an appointment with Doctor Sawyer"

The woman looks at the computer then back up at Beckett "Yes, Ms. Houghton, I have you down for 10:15. It is only 9:30. You are early"

"That is because the bus runs on a schedule and if I had taken the next bus, I would have been late"

"OH, I see" the younger woman answers in a very condescending voice. She then pulls out a clipboard and hands it to Beckett "fill this out and I need your driver's license or some other form of ID and your insurance information"

Beckett hands the woman the department issued fake ID. She is claiming she does not have a license "I don't have insurance. I was told I could come here even though I have no insurance"

"With an even more negative tone the woman responds as she hands Beckett another sheet of paper "You will also need to fill this form out for the public assistance"

Kate takes the forms and sits down in one of the chairs in the waiting room. She begins entering the information that agrees with the back story the department set up for her. The information Castle helps her memorize last night. After other more fun activities were finished.

It takes her about 15 minutes to finish the paperwork. Beckett stands and walks back to the counter. Again the woman behind the desk seem even more impatient as she looks over the documents. She expects to see numerous errors and omissions…and she does.

Part of her cover, Beckett deliberately leaves off the name of the baby's father and what he does for a living

"On the supplemental page, you didn't list the father's name or his occupation"

Beckett looks around as if she is embarrassed to respond "Well…uh…I…I did not want his name on any documents. You see…" she drops her voice to a whisper "he is in prison at the moment"

"OH!" is the once again condescending comment "Well we still need his name. .for the record. We will not be contacting him"

In a soft voice Beckett answers "His mane is Bob Yates"

She writes the name then look back up "And his address?"

Again she answers quietly "Oregon State Penitentiary"

"Oh" The clerk says softly as if she fully understands. She then glances over the rest of th documents "Very well, Ms. Houghton. Have a seat and the doctor should see you soon"

Beckett returns to the row of chairs and take a magazine and starts flipping through the pages. After and hour and several other women have been called back, the door opens and a woman steps into the waiting room "Kay Houghton?"

"That's me" Beckett stands with great difficulty and and walks to the door.

When she arrives at the entrance the woman speaks "I am Terry Winton. I am the physician's assistant. Please follow me" and she turns and moves down the corridor to a row of small examination rooms.

Just outside in the hallway Terry has Kate step on the scales and checks her height

After they enter the exam room, she tells Kate to sit on the examination table. She begins by taking Beckett's temperature. Pulse, and blood pressure. After making notes in the computer she tells Kate remove her slacks and underwear and she hands Beckett a gown to cover herself with

After the PA makes her examination she looks at Beckett "You are in very good condition for a woman who has not been receiving proper pre-natal care"

"I have tried to eat right for my baby. I took some vitamins I saw in the store. I have to walk almost everywhere because I can't afford the subway"

The woman smiles. "This is actually been very healthy for your baby" She stands "The doctor will be right in" and she leaves the room

Kate, knowing that the team is listening out in the van speaks "Nice office, clean, all the people have been really nice. Nothing to make me suspicious"

Just as Kate finishes her one sided report there is a knock. The door swings open and an older lady walks in "Kay, hi. I am Doctor Polly Sawyer. I understand this is your first time with us?"

"Yes…yes it is" Beckett responds using a tone of trepidation as if she feels small in the eyes of this medical professional

The woman sits at the computer and looks at the information in the system "how far along are you?"

"I think about 33 weeks"

"Well you look good for that. It appears you are doing well…let me have a look at you. Please lie down and put your feet into the stirrups"

Beckett does as she is requested but this is very uncomfortable for her since she really does not know this woman the way she does her regular OB/GYN

After the doctor does her examination she tells Beckett to wait and a technician will come in and do a sonogram.

The doctor leaves the room leaving Kate on the table. A very few minutes pass before another person enters the room. This time it is a man. This really gets Kate's nerves rising.

"Hello Kay, I am Ted Thomas and we are going to do a sonogram. Have you ever had one of these?"

"No. I have not" Kate is not telling the truth, of course. She has many over the years. But she is not feeling very comfortable at this moment, lying her half dressed

He looks at her with the covering still on her "Oh., please go ahead and get dressed and I will come back in. I only need you to lower your pants far enough to do the procedure"

The man steps out of the room making Beckett feel much better. She gets herself dressed and then opens the door to let the technician know she is ready

He returns to the room "Go ahead and lay down and just pull your pants below your baby bump" he tells her while he is setting up the machine

When he is ready to start, she tells her what will be happening as if she did not know. He describes the jell and the probe and she will feel nothing except the pressure to the extent he presses down on her stomach.

After several minutes of probing around he declares that he is finished and he hands her a towel to remove the left over silicone jell he used. He copies his file to the network and tells Beckett that he PA will be back in to see her in a few minutes.

He exits the room leaving Kate alone again.

Once more she speaks to her partners listening in the van "Nothing yet to make me suspicious…" There is another knock on the and the assistant enters "Well Kay, everything is looking great. You and the baby are healthy"

"That is good to know" she responds. So when do I come back?"

"Well since you are here without a partner or husband we want social service to come visit and discuss arrangements for after the baby is born"

"OK" Beckett responds "When will that be?"

"We want to set up a time for her to come by later today" she looks at a note pad "let's say 2:30 will that work for you?"

Beckett acts like any time is fine "Sure. I have no other place to be"

"Very good, Kay. The social worker will be to your place at 2:30 then"

Beckett steps down from the table when the PA makes another statement "And we want you back here next week. You are close to delivering so we want to check on you again"

Beckett stops at the desk upon leaving and sets up another appointment for one week from today.

She leaves the clinic and walks toward the bus stop. Just as she walks up to the curb, a person moves close to her side. She glances over to see LT standing beside her, looking straight ahead, getting ready to ride with her back to the drop off point.


	13. Chapter 13

**After several days of writer's block. I finally wrote few words**

* * *

Kate steps off the bus two stops from the clinic, but before she does she verifies that LT is getting off with her.

The two walk a half a block where there is a car waiting for her. She gets into the rear passenger compartment knowing the vehicle has been sent from the department to pick her up.

Her shadow keeps walking past her then stops at the next bench and sits down. He looks back at her and watches as her and the car pulls away. Once he is satisfied there is no one tailing her, her stands and walks around the corner where another unmarked car is waiting to take him back to the precinct

In the back seat of the unmarked police unit Kate has placed herself beside her husband. She leans into his shoulder and lets out a long sigh "I am so glad to be back here with you"

"I am glad you in my sight and within reach" Castle responds as he pulls her closer

"I didn't feel threatened, but I was nervous not knowing who might or might not be the one to bring me into danger"

"Well I was in the van listening along with the guys. We heard everything said and no one was worried about you…except me"

She leans in close to his ear "That's sweet"

She sits up straight and looks around then reaches into her blouse and does something that Castle is not understanding. "What are you doing?"

"I'm turning off the transmitter. I…we don't need to broadcast the things I am planning on doing as soon as we get home. Or rather the SRO"

"Kate we have to go back to the station and start digging into the backgrounds of all the people you met today"

Castle I have to be at the hotel at 2:30 to meet the Social Worker. They are coming to check on me. Make sure I am safe and getting enough sleep. Enough vitamins. Enough to eat…she leans in again. "but she will never know about what else I'm getting plenty of"

Castle has to catch his breath again then he leans over "Shush Kate. The driver might hear"

She grins from ear to ear then looks straight ahead. She then speaks to the driver "Pete, take us to the SRO but drop us off a block away in case anyone is there"

"Yes Detective" he responds and he continues toward the hotel

The car pulls up a block from the boarding house and Beckett gets out with Castle right behind her

"Castle, you can't just follow me back. If someone is waiting for ne they will see you and blow our cover"

"I am going to be about fifty feet behind you. I don't need to tail you like a private investigator…oh that would be cool, I could become a PI and lean PI skills. Get a PI hat. A spy glass…"

The more he ways the more irritated her look becomes "OK you can be fifty feet back and you know exactly where I'm going and if you see someone follow you can signal me"

"What do you want me to do?" he pauses then starts rubbing his nose "This is my signal that it is ok"

She lets out a soft laugh "That looks more like someone with an allergy. How about you pull your ear if everything is OK. Then I will know no one followed me"

She can see him drop his eyebrows at the thought of this signal "Pulling my ear brings back some very painful memories from when we first met"

"OK. I'll tell you what, if there is no one following me back to the hotel you can come to my room and maybe we can see if I can something else I can pull on"

"I…uh…what …you …uh are you saying…what ARE you saying?"

"I didn't say anything" she turns and starts walking away leaving Castle standing dumbfounded on the street corner

She is fifty feet away from him before he can gather his self-composure enough so he can get behind her

Any thought she might have had about how her current condition may have detracted

from their relationship is going away

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle and Beckett have dressed and are sitting at the table talking about the case when there is a knock at the door. Looking at the time they realize it must be the social worker

"She is right on time" Beckett softly comments as she looks at the clock

"I will be right next door if you need me" Castle states as he stands and kisses her on top of her head "Turn you r bra back on"

She give him a sideways look

"That sounded better in my head"

"I'm sure" she reaches between two button on her blouse and turns the transmitter back on

He sneaks out thru the closet that backs to a secret door in the back that enters into the observation room next door.

Kate has turned the bra microphone back on and Castle is now listening in from the next room

He hears the door open and a woman's voice can be heard "Ms. Houghton, I am the social worker, Karla Abernathy"

"Uh. Hello Ms. Abernathy" Beckett knows all the details that will be needed from the conversation but responds trying to sound unsure about the visit and what it might be about

"Call me Karla. It is too impersonal to be so formal"

"OK Karla? I'm Kay"

"Yes Kay, I looked through your file before coming here, but there are a lot of empty spaces there"

The professional woman stops talking and listens to see if Beckett offers to fill in any information voluntary…but Kate keeps her mouth shut. The less she says, the more the social worker will have to dig out and that is the plan

"Alright Kay, you don't seem to want to offer anything about your past, but I do need to know some things if I am going to be able to help you"

"OK" Beckett responds using a voice filled with of angst

"Alright, let's start at the beginning. Tell me where you were born?"

For the next thirty minutes Beckett poured out the back story legend that had been so carefully crafted by the department. How she was born on a small ranch in New Mexico a hundred miles outside of Hobbs, neat the Texas Panhandle. She was a wild teenager, getting in trouble mostly with the boys. He father threatened to send her to a nunnery if she didn't get her act together

She tells the social worker that she honestly did not know how she kept from getting pregnant in high school

"So you have been sexually active since then?"

Kate drops her head as if this information is embarrassing

"Yeah I was"

"Was this what caused you to leave home?"

She pauses for effect "Yes. My mother tried to talk to me…my dad was angry. He didn't want his little girl be known as EASY…but…I was"

Beckett pauses again to drag out the story "I left home at 17 with a guy just passing thru. We rode on his motorcycle all the way to South Texas then along the Gulf Coast. We stopped in Florida and spent a year living in Miami"

She stops as if the story is painful and she looks down

"Did something happen there?"

She shakes her head "Yeah, he got into drug dealing and…" again she tops

"What happened Kay?"

"He got caught in a drug deal gone wrong. Everyone had guns and the shooting started. He was killed"

"Were you hurt?"

"No. I was waiting back in the apartment. He didn't come home. I saw it on the news"

Beckett is dishing the story out with all the emotion of someone who lived the events "I grabbed our stuff and ran out before the police came to the apartment. I ended here in New York"

The social worker makes a statement "So he is not the father"

"Uh…no. That was several years ago" Becket looks away from the social worker making it appear she is very embarrassed by this conversation

"So, Kay. Who is the father and where ca new find him?"

"He is…in prison"

"Here in New York?"

"No he was picked up on a warrant from Oregon. He was wanted there for family violence. He was accused of beating his wife"

"Wife? Was he married?"

"I didn't know. He told me he was single. We started up about a year ago. Just after I told him I was pregnant he got mad and…"

She stops talking. This is when the social worker starts digging more deeply "Kay did he beat you?"

Beckett sits quietly for a minute before answering "After he knocked me up he got violent. Wanted to have me get an abortion, but I said no. That I was going to have this baby" she rubs her stomach for effect

"Did you call the police?"

That's when he got arrested on an out of state warrant. They sent him back for prison"

OK, the baby's daddy is out of the picture," Karla remarks "what about your parents. Are you able to re connect with them?"

Beckett again drops her head "No. I tried to call them about a month after I found out I am pregnant and the phone is disconnected. I tried to call a neighbor and they said my dad died of a heart attack about a year after I left home and my mom moved out. No one knows where she went"

"So you have no family to help with the baby?"

"No"

"What about the boyfriend. His family?"

"He never talked about them I think he is like me and doesn't know where they are"

"Why didn't you try to ask him?"

Kate is having trouble making it sound like she hates the father of her baby while she loves him dearly "I don't want to make any contact with him. He might be able to find me when he gets out and I want no part of him"

This entire time Karla is making notes in her journal. She finally closes the book and looks directly at Beckett

"How are you surviving? I mean how are you eating and paying for this apartment?"

"I get a few shifts at the donut shop around the corner and I am getting public assistance. That pays for the room"

"Kay, since you have no family here and no other support, could I suggest you consider putting the baby up for adoption?"

Kate snaps her head up exactly like she would have done if the question were really asked of her

"NO! Absolutely not. I would never give my baby away"

"We can assure you the baby will get a great home. A good family with a good home. The baby would want for nothing"

"I understand Karla but I would NEVER and I mean never give my baby away"

"Kay, I would like to just ask that you think about this option. Please"

Karla Abernathy stands and repeats her suggestion that Kay consider giving the child up and that she will be back in a week to make sure her patient is doing well


	14. Chapter 14

**It took a lot for me to return to writing.**

 **I had my heart ripped out with Stana's firing**

 **But I am glad the series was cancelled. I can't believe I just said that**

 **The ending was nice. Better than her being killed and the show falling apart like it would have**  
 **So, I was able to finally bring another chapter alive and will finish this story.**

 **In my mind they will continue to travel thru this alternate universe and the events of the show never happened**

 **To my faithful reader: I hope you continue to follow my stories**  
 **Thanks you to each and every one**

* * *

After the visit from the social worker, Castle and Beckett have gone into the precinct to write up a report concerning the activities of the day and compare theories with her partners

Along with her husband, Richard Castle, the surveillance van was occupied by both Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito therefore giving then a lot of information to be distilled into a working theory or theories.

At this point the team is not even positive that this is the best path to be travelling down but it is the one that is the most plausible

When Castle and Beckett step up to the murder board they see the two detectives in different opinions as to who might be a viable suspect.

"Hey guys" Beckett starts up "What do you two think?"

Ryan answers first "I think it is the social worker. She seemed a little too interested in you giving up the baby for adoption"

Esposito chimes in next "Maybe too interested and I think that is a good suspect but I think the one we need to look at first is the one who seemed the least bit interested in how you took care of the situation and someone who would know the condition of the baby, without asking too many questions, therefore giving away their intentions. That would be the ultra sound technician"

Beckett looks at her protégés "Both suspects are very valid, but Castle thinks it is the nurse and I think it is the doctor herself"

The two men look at the writer and see a smug look on his face "I just think the nurse can get in and see all the information of the records of the patient. The ultrasound technician has limited access and the doctor has far too many patients to see each day and no time to look…and what would be the reason to take babies? Money! The doctor makes too much to need anything"

Beckett chimes in next "OK. Let's look at all four. See if there is anything in their lives that might be cause for concern. Money troubles, spouse or significant others that might be cause for alarm"

"Got it boss" Ryan responds as he turns to his computer screen and begins the search. "I will look into the social worker"

Esposito "I am on the technician"

Beckett finishes the comments "And Castle and I will look at the doctor and nurse"

All four are scanning records on their computers, except Castle, since he has no police computer, he has to depend on his wife's record search so he kills time, as he has done some many times before. Playing Angry Birds

Esposito is searching the ultra sound technician "He is married for ten years. His wife is a nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital" over in Newark"

"A lot of medical people are married to others in the field" Kate remarks

"Do they have any children?" Castle asks

Espo looks at the screen again "No. They are childless"

Castle looks at Beckett "They might be wanting a child and have not been able to have one of their own and they took other's babies"

"Good theory babe, but them not having any children makes me think they did not take any babies. If they had, they would have kept at least one"

"OH…yeah. That makes sense" Rick responds

Kate looks at Ryan "Have you found anything on your number one suspect?"

"She is a county employee. She makes a nice salary doing that, I might add. She is single, lives in a nice apartment in Queens. She has been on the job for the past twenty years with not so much as a phone call from clients complaining about her doing anything bad"

"Any boyfriends?" Castle wonders

Ryan checks his notes "Yes. She has had a steady guy for the last two years"

Esposito comments "Just like the ultra sound technician, if she took a child or several, there would probably be at least one kid in the house"

Ryan looks at his notes again "Yeah, probably"

As the day presses on into late afternoon Kate sits back from her screen "The doctor does have some history"

"What do you have?" Ryan asks

"She went to medical school at Johns Hopkins on a partial scholarship. She had to take out student loans to pay for the rest of her degree. She married another medical student and the two live in a nice apartment in midtown but I cannot confirm how much they make. The clinic she works at is very closed about information on the medical staff. Especially their pay"

Castle looks at his wife "Has she paid the loans off yet?"

Beckett looks at the screen "No. she is making a regular payment to the loan and…" she pauses

"She is making payments and….what?" Castle asks

"Every so often she makes larger payments to the loans"

"Maybe she is taking babies and selling them and taking the money tyo pay her loans off?" Rick questions

"That's harsh" Esposito responds

"True" Kate states and they all return to their investigating

As evening approaches, the foursome have found no definite evidence on any one of the suspects

"Guys…" Beckett opens up "I am tired and I think we need to start back up in the morning when everyone is rested up" she grabs her bag and looks at her husband "Let's go home Castle"

As the trio head for the elevator Kate turns to her husband "Wait! We can't go to the loft"

Castle looks over looks over "What do you mean we can't go there?"

"I am supposed to be destitute and living in an SRO. If I am being watched then they will notice I don't go home and become suspicious. We have to go to the hotel"

"OK! We go to the SRO but when we get there you come to my observation room and we sleep there for the night"

After the door to the elevator closes, she leans into his ear "so we are going to a no tell motel and spend the night?"

He has a question on his face "Yeah"

"In the same bed?" she whispers

"Yeah?"

In an even more sexy voice "Doing all kinds of things...to each other?"

"It's getting hot in here"

"Wait until you see how hot is in that room"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As far as Richard Castle is concerned, the taxi cab cannot get to the hotel fast enough. During the entire ride, Kate is sitting next to her husband. She can just sense how much the length of the trip getting to Castle. And she is enjoying it completely

As they approach the corner a block away Beckett tells the driver to pull over so she can get out and walk the last block so if she is being watched they will not get suspicious

"Kate. I wish you would just let us take you to the door. I will feel better if we do"

"No Castle. I do not need to show up in a cab with a ruggedly handsome and rich writer. If I were spotted, that might look just a little odd"

"Ok but I will be watching the whole time. OK?"

She leans over to kiss him "That's sweet. I will see you in your room. OK?"

The cab pulls to the curb and Beckett gets out and starts walking toward the SRO just around the corner from where she is dropped off

Castle has the cab pull around the corner and down the block so he can watch her until she gets to the door. Once she steps up to the building he has the driver pull around the next block where he get out and enters the SRO through the door for police to enter unobserved from the main entrance.

Once inside he immediately goes to the room adjacent to hers and looks at the cameras. This is when he notices that she is the lobby talking to someone. He cannot tell who it is because they have their back to the camera. He watches for just a moment before heading out to the elevator so he can go down to the lobby to check on her.

The elevator is taking too long to arrive so Castle turns and runs for the stairs. Taking two step at a time he arrives at the lobby to find it empty. There is no one there


	15. Chapter 15

Richard Castle has never been so panicked in his entire life. He turns again and runs back up the stairs to the third floor. He cannot get back to the floor and the observation room fast enough for his liking

As he is running up the stairs he is taking out his cell phone to check with the officers in the observation van to see if they had anything they could give him.

When Officer McNulte answers he tells Castle since Beckett was at the precinct with him and the other guys, they felt like they could leave the van at the SRO and he and his partner could go to grab a bite to eat before starting back up when Castle and Beckett returned back. In fact they were just five minutes away

After he hung up on the call, Castle has arrived back in his room with the observation system. He is in a total panic mode. He was given a crash course in the use of all the cameras and recording equipment but had not payed as much attention as he should have and now he knows he should have more attentive.

He quickly starts looking at all the monitors checking for any sign of where she might be. Then he remembers how to do a fast rewind so he can look at where she might have gone and maybe get a better glimpse of the person she was standing in the lobby talking to.

It takes a little time but he gets the images rewound by five minutes. About the time he saw her in front of the elevator talking to the unknown stranger

He starts the playback and can see that they seem to be talking and her stance is not indicating that she feels threatened by this person in any way.

He watches as the two get into the elevator and they seem to be talking. That makes him feel a little better since he thinks she is still inside the hotel. He turns his attention to the camera inside the elevator and it appears they are still just talking. He now has a better view of the unknown person and it appears to be a man. A much older man with a grey beard and grey hair

They continue to talk when the elevator doors open she gets off on the same floor with him.

The fourth floor! Not the third floor

Castle then turns his attention to the camera covering the fourth floor and sees that the camera in the elevator lobby is the only camera fully functioning. The camera looking down away from the elevator lobby is terribly blurry but it looks like the man walked to the third room from the lobby, but he cannot tell if he is alone or Kate is with him.

Castle, once again, is running up the stairs. This time heading to the fourth floor looking for his wife, When he exits the stairway he looks quickly to get his bearings as to where

Kate and the man went. Once he decides the room where they were he stops and begins pounding on the door yelling

"KATE! KATE!"

The door opens and Castle is facing an older man who seems very calm and yet not understanding why Castle is yelling Kate's name

"Can I help you?" the man asks

Castle is looking into the man's very small room "I am looking for a woman. Tall…long brunette hair"

"Are you talking about Kay?"

Castle pauses. Momentarily forgetting Kate's undercover name "Yes! Yes!...Kay. Did she come in here?"

"No. We were talking and when we got to this floor she commented that this was not her floor but she said she wanted to continue our conversation after she went back to her room. She said there was someone she had to talk to and then she was coming back. Do you want me to tell her you are looking for her?"

Feeling his heart slowing back down Castle answers "No. That's great. Thank you"

Again Castle rushes back out the door to the stairs to travel back down to their floor. When he exits the stairway he rushes back into the observation room.

When he enters the door he almost runs over Kate

"Castle! What are you doing?" Kate barely gets the words out before her body is surrounded by Rick's arms and he is pulling her into his embrace

Since she is wearing flats and is noticeably shorter then him, he lays his chin to the top of her head. "Kate. I was so worried"

She is trying to respond to his comments but he is almost smothering her "What were you worried about? I just came in from outside"

"When I got to the room and you weren't here, I looked at the camera and saw you talking to someone in the lobby and I got worried, so I rushed down the stairs and you weren't there and then when I came back here I looked at the cameras and saw you getting into the elevator with this man and then you were not here and then I saw you leave out on his floor and then the camera was not working right so I ran upstairs and knocked on the man's door and…"

"CASTLE! Stop"

Rick ends his rant and lets her pull back just a little

"OK. I can stop now" he relinquishes

"Good!" she is trying to get a tiny bit of space "I met this man in the lobby. He has lived here about a year. He works at the news stand around the corner. He commented about me expecting and asked if my husband were with me. Wanting to stay in character, I told him that daddy was in prison and I was alone"

Castle is slowly coming down from his panic "What did he say then?"

"He told me that he had lived in another SRO a couple of years ago and there was another pregnant woman there without a man and she kind of took up with him like a father figure. His name was Eddie Jackson. He retired from the army after twenty years"

"And he lives in an SRO?

"He said he has no other family and decided to live simply and works part time to stay busy. What is funny, he likes Broadway and has seasons tickets to one of the theatres"

Rick is wondering what this man knows "So what is important about him?"

"OH. He was living in Brooklyn and he met another young pregnant woman, Melody Murphy"

"That is one of your victims"

"Yeah"

"What else did he say about her?" Castle is really interested now

"I told him I would come back to talk to him, but I knew you would be wanting to see me to know I was OK, so I told him I would come back in a few minutes and we would continue our conversation. So, babe are you ready to go back up to his apartment?"

"Lead the way" he steps aside to allow Kate to walk ahead of him

Castle and Beckett get into the elevator for the short trip up one floor. Kate is standing in front of her husband and he wraps his arms around her growing stomach "Kate. I was so afraid and worried when you disappeared"

She leans back into his embrace "I'm sorry. I did not think you had time to get to the room and to see that I was not there"

"Please promise me that you will not do anything like that again"

"Promise" she softly responds

Once the couple arrive at Eddie's room Castle knocks on the door. Much softer this time

The older man opens the door and sees the couple outside "Kay? Good to see you again, and…" he is looking at Rick

"Eddie, this is Rick he my hus…er my best friend"

"Good to meet you Rick. You were very panicked the last time I saw you

"Sorry about that Eddie, I was looking for Kay and though she might have been hurt"

"It is nice you have a friend so close, Kay. Someone to look after you like Rick here" Eddie points at Castle

"Thanks Eddie. We wanted to come up and talk to you about what you said about the woman you met a year ago, Melody Murphy"

"Please come in…" he steps aside and allows Castle and Beckett to enter. His room is much different from the others in the hotel. He has a table and chairs next to the mini kitchen where the three can sit. He also has a small but nice television on the table. There are some books on the shelves of a small bookcase. Again not standard furniture in these type hotels

"May I offer you some tea or coffee?"

"No thanks Eddie" Kate responds "but may I have some water?"

"Yes, of course" He opens the refrigerator and takes out three bottles. He hands one to Kate and one to Rick and keeps one for himself

Beckett starts up "So Eddie, tell me all about Melody"

A gentle smile crosses his face "she was a lovely girl. We were living at a hotel in Brooklyn when we met. Just like you and I we met in the lobby and struck up a conversation."

"What did you talk about?" Castle asks

"Started out about just the weather, how the Yankees were doing. Things such as that. I finally asked about the baby she was carrying and that is when she got a little stand offish"

"How so?"

"At first she didn't want to talk about it but I finally got through to her like a father would and she opened up to me"

Kate asks the obvious "What did she say about the father of the baby?"

"She said it was a case of date rape. She said the guy was a friend of a friend and they had gone out a few times, then one day he went all super aggressive and it ended up badly"

Beckett is mentally taking notes about the conversation "Did she say what happened to the guy?"

"He got arrested and is now on the national list of sexual predators. She said he moved to Wisconsin or somewhere out of state to try to get away from his past"

Castle brings up the next question that he knows Beckett wants to ask "Was she worried that he might come back and hurt her?"

"No. She said he had no idea where she was. In fact none of her family knew, she said"

"Was she worried about anyone else?" Beckett questions

The man looks across the room "Yeah she was. It was someone from the maternity center where she was going. She said there was someone who gave her the creeps"

"Did she say who, exactly?"

"No, but she did say they were connected to the clinic she went…uh…" she seems to be thinking "Mid City Women's Center. That's where she was going"

"So how long was she going there?" Beckett asks

"I am not sure, but one day she disappeared"

"What do you mean? Disappeared?"

"I mean one day she was here and the next day she was gone. I asked the super and he said he didn't know much about her and when she didn't pay her rent the next week, he sold her stuff and rented the apartment to someone else"

"Did you try to find her?"

"Yes, of course, but I was not family so the police would not take my missing person's report. They said she probably went home to her family. I never saw her again"

* * *

 **So you can see, I am not like the season 8 show runners always messing up the love story.**  
 **I think the show could have gone on for years with the proper writing and no BTS junk. But...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Long weekend needs a new chapter**

* * *

As the man is continuing his story Castle's cell phone rings. He sees the call is coming from Officer McNulte. Castle knows that he has probably returned back to the van and wants to get an update on Beckett to make sure she is Ok.

Looking at the screen Castle tells Kate "I need to take this" and he then turns the screen so she can see who is calling"

"OK Rick. I will be right here"

Castle stands and exits the room into the hall. Speaking into the phone "Castle"

The voice of a now concerned officer can be heard "Rick. We are back in the van. Have you heard from Beckett?"

"Yes. She is fine. She was talking to another resident here in the SRO. A man who has knowledge about one of our other victims"

"Really? That's great. Well, let us know what we can do"

"Will do" Rick responds then hangs up on the call.

As he approaches the partly open door he can hear the conversation going on between Eddie and Kate

"Kay. That is a very nice man. Rick I mean" pointing at the door

Beckett cannot help but smile "Yes. He is wonderful"

Eddie glances across the table at Beckett "Too bad though…"

"What do you mean?"

"Too bad he is married"

Kate takes in a deep breath thinking her cover is blown "UH. Yeah. How did you know?"

"I noticed his wedding ring. I can see that he is married"

"Yes he is. He has been married for some time now"

"Are him and his wife doing OK?"

"They are great. Why?"

"It is unusual for a married man to hang around an unwed pregnant woman. That's all"

Kate is struggling with her feelings right now. It is hard to tell an untruth about Castle while the entire time she loves him so much while trying to make someone else believe she has no feelings at all for the guy

"Rick and I have known each other for over five years. Long before he got married. We have been the best of friends for all this time"

"So you know his wife?"

"We could be sisters"

"Then you know that his marriage is solid?"

"Believe me, it is super solid. His wife makes sure the marriage is secure. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that she takes very, very good care of him and their relationship. She makes sure that he has no energy to wander…if you know what I mean"

Eddie lets out a chuckle acknowledging Beckett's comment "That is good. You are a beautiful woman and it would be easy for a man…any man to stray and fall in love with you"

Kate actually feels her face turning red with the statement

"Thank you for the compliment"

Rick decides it might be the time for him to rescue his wife and he reenters the small apartment

"Hey you, " Castle comments as he is looking at Kate "Kay, are you trying to pick up this man?"

"No!" Beckett quickly responds "I think I need to go back to my apartment. Thank you for the water and the conversation, Eddie We will have to do this again real soon"

Beckett stands and moves to the entry. Eddie, being the gentleman he appears to be, stands and walks the pair to the door

Once the portal closes, Kate takes a firm grip on Castle's hand and the couple walk to the elevator.

Once inside the cab, Kate leans her body into her husband "I love you Rick" she softly says

"Back at ya" he whispers into her ear.

They stay like this until they doors open and they can walk back to Rick's room and go inside.

Castle takes his phone out and calls the surveillance van to tell the officers that they are in for the night. They talk for a few minutes while filling the men in on where Kate was and the conversation that transpired concerning the other victim.

When Castel hangs up his phone he sets it into the charger for the night. He looks around the room checking as to where Kate has gone. He can hear the water running and realizes she must still be in the bathroom. He begins undressing himself

He is down to his underwear when the door opens with a sight appears that almost stops his heart.

Kate Beckett-Castle is dressed in a very sheer very sexy, very short night gown. Even with her growing stomach she is still as radiant, as beautiful, as sexy to him as she has always been…if maybe not more so, because he knows she is carrying his child inside her

"OH…I…you are...UH…I can't…you look incredible" He barely gets out

She is wearing one of her patented evil smiles "you like?" she spins allowing even more of her legs to show

"What is there to not like?" he almost gasps "What brought this on?"

"You want me to go put something else on. I think I can find that floor length flannel gown I wore in the bomb shelter"

"NO! Absolutely not! But what how come this? I mean tonight. Right now?"

As she steps up and brings her arms around her husband pressing every inch of her body into contact with him "I told Eddie that your wife will do anything to keep you from wanting or even looking at another woman. I think that this might fulfill that promise"

Wrapping her into his embrace "Yes. Yes. I believe it will"

He reaches over and turns off the light

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning, the pair begins their day with her usual walk to a nearby bus stop and the ride several blocks away. When she approaches the pick-up point she sees her usual escort, LT sitting on a bench pretending to be reading a paper

They step up to the bus and again have a quiet ride to the drop off point where she walks another half block only to be picked up by Ryan and Esposito in an unmarked car. The trip to the station is brief.

When they arrive on the fourth floor she finds her husband already at her desk with a cup of decaf just for her.

With a smile she accepts this morning kiss. When she takes her first sip a funny look comes over her face

"Castle. This is not decaf" she says with a tiny bit of worry in her voice

"Yes it is. I found a really nice recipe that tastes exactly like the real stuff. You like it?"

`"it's delicious. What's in it?"

"I can't tell you"

"Why?"

"If I do then you can make your own coffee and won't need me anymore"

"Then don't tell me"

He smiles at her then he responds "Thank you"

At this moment Ryan and Esposito walk out of the tech room and into the bull pen.

"Hey guys" Kate comments "Find anything?"

Ryan responds first "I am glad you found Eddie and he told you about the other victim and the SRO she was staying in. We went back three years and started looking at street camera"

"That's a lot of hours looking at video" Beckett comments

"It was a lot of hours for the software to look but the facial recognition software does not mind or get bored. It looks and looks and never complains"

Kate sneers at her partner "So, Ryan, have you and the computer bonded and become one, like the Borg?"

Ryan puts on a silly grin "The system did find her on the street back two years ago. It appears that she was not pregnant at the time"

"Is there any cameras around the SRO she was living in?"

"One a block away. But it was facing away from the front door, so we will probably not get anything from that one"

Castle has a thought "But you might get someone going towards the SRO"

"What are you thinking Rick?" Kate asks

"We load the images of all the people from the women's center and have the systems look for them coming or going"

Esposito speaks up "Right. We would not expect anyone from the center to be making any regular visits to the hotel."

Ryan finishes "Anyone from the center that does come on a regular basis would be suspicious"

"Right" Esposito agrees

"So guys. Tech enter the facial data on all the people from the center and have it start searching" Beckett directs

Castle continues "Have them focus on the social worker and doctor. Those are my two favorites"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The balance of the day goes by slowly as the human team search personnel records, work records and banking records trying to locate any connection with anyone in the suspect pool and the victims. But there is no success on any search

Late in the day Beckett stretches her arms up over her head and leans back in her chair "Castle, I'm tired. Are you ready to go home?

"Do you mean home, home or the SRO?"

She can see the face of the little boy that she fell in love with waiting for her answer "Let's go home for tonight. We can always go by the SRO and check on things in the morning. Besides the surveillance team is there and will let us know if anything happens that we need to know about"

The couple walk to the elevator. Each day her movement becomes more difficult as the baby inside is growing day by day

Once the elevator doors close she leans back into his embrace and cherishes every moment he has offered to her

When they arrive at the loft, he goes directly to the bathroom and draws Kate a nice warm bath. When she enters the room she finds candles lit. Soft music playing from the speakers and the aroma of lavender he has it all ready for her.

She approaches the tub and pulls off her robe. Rick takes it from her and helps her get into the bath. She leans back and in moment she falls asleep

Richard Castle sits in the room watching the love of his live enjoy a moment of pleasure just for herself

* * *

I **thought we needed to end this chapter on an up note and not some angst. Just for the sake of angst.**

 **There is plenty of time for that later**


	17. Chapter 17

**I let everyone have a nice weekend without having to worry about Kate and the baby**

* * *

The alarm clock buzzing brings Katherine Beckett-Castle out of a dream. A dream where she was drifting on a soft cloud filled with the aroma of lavender with the sweet smell of scented candles in the air. In spite of being 8 months pregnant she feels wonderful this morning.

Her dream fogged mind slowly comes to consciousness enough to feel and accept the soft sheets below and above her now rested body.

She extends her arms above her head and comes into contact with the plush leather headboard that rises above the comfortably soft mattress below her earlier aching body

She looks over to her husband's side of the bed to find him laying there just looking at her face

"Good morning sleeping beauty" He says softly to her

"Good morning yourself. What time is it?"

"A little after eight"

A note of panic enters her voice "What? I'm late! I overslept! Why did you let me oversleep?"

"You needed it. Don't worry. I called in and told them you were going to be a little late in reporting to the SRO this morning. Everything is good"

"Funny" she tries to roll over to sit up

"Just take your time. I have breakfast ready for you and some more of that special coffee you like so much"

She looks back over her shoulder then down to the covers "How did I get in the bed, anyway? The last thing I remember was getting into the bathtub" she looks toward the bath room "I fell asleep? And how did I get here? Did you carry me to bed?"

"Actually you walked on your own power. But I don't think you were awake when you did it. I helped you dry off. Will not be forgetting rubbing your naked body with a towel any time soon"

She lets out a little huff "I am sure you were excited to see my fat body"

He reaches over to her "Kate. Why are you feeling this way? You are beautiful…baby bump and all"

She looks down, then pointing at her stomach "I think this is a lot more than a bump"

"Bump? Or more than a bump? You are as gorgeous as the first day I met you"

She leans back into his embrace and with the voice he loves so much "You're lying…but I think it's sweet"

They stay connected for several heartbeats then she tries again to stand. This time she starts toward the bathroom to begin getting dressed.

As she begins moving toward the bathroom sink "I think we are having a boy" she says to no one in particular as she takes a seat on the toilet

"Why do you think it is a boy" Rick Castle is actually excited over the possibility that they are having a boy

"Because he keeps kicking my bladder like it is a soccer ball. That's why"

She can hear her husband give out a soft laugh

"While you get dressed, I will get breakfast plated and ready for you when you get out"

She answers loudly over the sound of running water "THANKS"

When Kate exits the bedroom and moves across the loft to the kitchen table where her breakfast is waiting. She sees the look on her husband's face is exactly as he had said. He does still think she is beautiful.

He has her morning meal ready with a scrambled egg, a slice of bacon and a piece of toast along with a cup of fruit. She smiles as she sits down knowing that this man does love her so very, very much

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\

Before going to the SRO they stop by the precinct to check in with the guys to see if there has been any forward movement on the cases.

"Guys, you would think that with this many murdered women that we would have much more to go on" Beckett starts out

Ryan responds "Except we can't link any of them to one another except the Woman's Center and that is a scattered connection covering months if not years"

Castle seems to have an idea "Years?"

"What is it Castle?" Beckett asks

"Years! These cases are connected to the women's center except they are years apart, We can narrow our suspect field by finding out who was at the center during the time our first victim was killed and is still working there today"

Esposito responds to that comment "Right. If we find the one or two who have been there the whole time we can maybe determine the one who did it. Ryan and I will work on that while you two go play destitute woman and her friend" He almost laughs at that

When Castle and Beckett leave the station, they are in the back seat of an unmarked cruiser it Ann Hastings driving. When they get one block from the hotel, Kate gets out and proceeds to walk to the building while Rick rides to the other side and enters through the secret entrance

When Castle gets to the surveillance room she sees Beckett on the camera in the lobby waiting for the elevator to arrive. This is when he notices another woman step up behind Kate. He looks closely and can see that his wife does not feel threatened by this lady and they seem to be talking casually.

When the elevator arrives and Beckett steps inside the cab he can get a look at the woman's face and he realizes why Beckett was not concerned. It is the social worker paying her usual visit to Kay Houghton

Rick watches the cameras on the third floor when the two women arrive and walk toward the apartment and they walk inside

Due to Castle's concern for his wife he had an extra camera installed in her room along with audio recording. He is not worried about his and Kate's private life being on display since when he is there they sleep in the much more comfortable bed of the surveillance room

Castle put on the headphones so he can listen to the meeting without the possibility of this being heard in the next room

"Well Kay, how have you been doing?" Karla, the social worker asks

"I am doing well. As well as I can" Beckett responds "I feel like I am about to bust any moment"

"Well you look very healthy. I understand that you have an appointment at the center this afternoon?"

"Yes. They said that they wanted to make sure the baby is OK and I am still alright"

"You look like everything is going well. Are you eating properly?"

"Yes. The menu that the dietician gave me is not only healthy but tasty" Kate is milking this interview as best she can making sure Karla thinks that she is following the clinic doctor's orders when in fact she is following her usual OB/GYN's instructions

Karla looks over her paperwork and her notes from the previous meeting "Kay, how are you going to take care of this baby? I mean you are going to be a single mother with an infant and no job. No family. No one to help you"

"I plan to get a job after the baby is born"

"What kind of a job are you going to get? What are your qualifications?"

"I worked in a coffee shop back before I got pregnant. I could go back there"

"Kay. Those type jobs don't pay very much. If you are working, how will you take care of a baby? Infant day care is very expensive and after you pay a sitter you probably will not have anything left over to live on"

Kate uses her unique ability to put on a worried facial expression to make her answer seem real "I guess I had not thought about that"

"That is exactly what I am talking about. That is why I suggested that you might put this baby up for adoption" the social worker pauses to allow Kay to consider her options

"NO! I will not give my baby up. I want to have this baby" Kate rubs her stomach for effect

"Kay. I wish you would reconsider. You need to think about what will be best for the child. A stable two parent home with a family that wants a child or your life of struggling to provide the basic necessities in life"

Beckett does not answer for a for moments

"Kay. There are dozens of married couples not able to have children of their own who would just love having a newborn. In fact many will pay the expenses of having the child and will even give the baby's mother a stipend for her"

Again Kate stays quiet

Karla closes her portfolio and stands to leave "Kay. Please consider you options and what are the best options for the baby"

Beckett simply nods her head in response

The social worker speaks as she opens the door to leave "You have an appointment this afternoon. If you decide to put the baby up for adoption tell the staff and they will contact me"

Again Kate just nods her head

As the corridor door closes with a snap, the inner door opens and Castle steps into the room. Before he can say a word his wife is in his arms crying "How can any woman willingly give away the life that she has growing inside her?"

* * *

 **OK?**

 **Are you ready for some angst?**

 **I think I can add some in the next chapter if you want!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I promised you that Angst is coming**

 **Well here it is**

 **You have been warned**

* * *

Kate does not want to step away from her husband. The one man who has stood beside her all these years even when she was dating another man and she pushed him away, he never left her side. She once told Agent Shaw that Castle had the attention span of a cocker spaniel to which she replied "and the dedication" And that dedication is what he has proven over and over

She feels so warm and safe in his arms she doesn't want to go but she needs to go to the clinic for her appointment.

"Castle, I need to go"

As he releases her "I know. I just don't you want to"

"Me either" She replies as she pulls away. "After the clinic I need to go to my regular doctor to make sure everything is good"

"I know. I just wish this was over and I could stop worrying about you ever time you are out of my sight"

She takes her coat off the chair by the door "I do too" She walks out to the hallway

Castle is already on the street and in the covert cruiser and watches Kate get on the number 14 bus for her trip to the center. Rick and Officer Ann Hastings watch as LT follows up the steps of the bus to be with her for her journey

Hastings gets Castle to the surveillance van well before Kate's arrival. He and Hastings move into the van and are ready for whatever happens in the center. The team watches as Beckett walks up the street toward the entry. She is being followed by LT, who is scanning for any possible threats.

Kate begins her walk up the steps and LT slows to look for threats. He sees none and as Beckett enter the doors he walks on past the building and into another waiting car

In the surveillance van the team of Ryan and Esposito are watching the monitors and listening to the audio coming from Beckett's transmitter as Castle comes thru the door

Esposito makes a comment that does not come out the way he meant it to "That bra sure is sensitive"

Castle and Ryan both turn to look at the Hispanic detective who suddenly realizes how bad that sounded

"The transmitter I mean. The transmitter IN her bra sure is so sensitive"

Rick wants to laugh at Javi but holds it inside for now. He thinks about how Beckett will laugh at comment

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Beckett checks in at the front desk where Yolanda Bradford, the same woman behind the name plate and with the same condescending attitude sits. Beckett is glad that none of the other staff are so rude to her. It is evident that this person does not like women who are with child and not in a regular relationship with the father But Kate assumes this is just to be expected from someone who deals with the public but is not a trained medical professional and sensitive to patient's emotions

She looks at the schedule and once again in a very condescending voice "You are early again"

"The bus gets me here at this time"

"OK. Have a seat. The doctor is running a little late this afternoon" and she points toward the line of chairs almost filled with other expecting women

Beckett picks up a magazine to read over. It is ragged and several pages are torn or completely missing. She closes the cover and looks for the publish date and notices that the periodical is over two years old. So much for current subscriptions

Kate begins to pretend to read over the articles but her mind is elsewhere. She is thinking about her real life and the difference to one she is pretending to be living. Pretending to be a single, knocked up woman, with no man in her life and no family to care for her needs

When in reality, she is married to a guy. A wealthy guy. A guy who sees to her every need and can afford to. And as for a family, she has a family that loves her including her father and her mother-in-law and a precious step daughter who she thinks of as if she were her own.

Kate glances around the room and tries to decide how many of these women are in a committed relationship with a man that loves them and who are not. But, just like her, there is no sign hanging over them saying 'I AM ALONE' or one that says 'I AM WITH MY MAN'

Unlike the part she is playing she thinks 'I not alone'. I have a husband who has enough money and loves me deeply while some of these other women don't have that. This again brings her to a small devil in her head that pops up every so often 'Why Me?' That could have easily been me sitting here with no one

Due to some unimportant events in her life like being turned away by some boy she had a crush on in college. Then losing her mother or Will Sorenson picking his job over her, she wonders if she is living a dream

And now she struggles being so deep in love. Not because it is unbelievable, but her love life is real and this undercover operation is very emotionally straining for her. Trying to convince the staff here that she has no one to help her and putting herself in those other women's shoes. The victims had no one and she considers how lonely that must have been.

Several women are called in to the exam rooms while Kate sits. After an hour and a half the inner door opens and her name is called "Kay Houghton?"

Beckett stands up with a little more difficulty than yesterday and she moves ungracefully to the door.

"Well Kay how has you been?" Physician's Assistant Terry Winton asks as she steps

aside for Beckett/Houghton to enter the corridor

"I am doing as well as can be expected being that I feel like an elephant trying to swim across the Hudson"

The PA lets out a soft chuckle. She hears a lot of comments from the expectant mothers and she thinks this is the first time that one was used

"Well you are looking good, Kay" She leads Kate to the exam room. They stop at the scales and she has Beckett stand on the plate.

Once in the exam room, the PA takes Kate's blood pressure and temperature.

"Everything looks good Kay" The PA says "Lay down and let me check the baby

Beckett does as she is asked and Terry takes out her stethoscope and listens to the baby's heartbeat

"Sounds good" then she feels Kate's stomach to determine the baby's position

"Getting close to having this baby" she remarks "I am going to have Ted come in a do an ultrasound"

The woman leaves the exam room leaving Kate alone. She uses the time to make a comment that she knows will be heard in the van "Everything seems normal here other than the fact the waiting room is more packed than before"

There is a knock on the door and the lab technician enters the room "Hello Kay. How are you today?'

"I am fine, thank you"

"I am going to do another sonogram on the baby and make sure he is still in there" he tries to lighten up the mood

"Oh he is still there moving around…a lot. I think he sleeps during the day and is up playing all night"

The man smiles "He keeps you awake?"

"Sometimes…" Kate has to stop herself from finishing the sentence. She was going to say 'sometimes he kicks Rick in the back when we are spooned together' but that would not be a good thing to say since she is supposed to be alone

Ted takes out the jell and proceeds to smear it all over Kate's stomach

After several minutes of probing around he hands Kate a towel to clean the silicone off herself

"All done. I will give this to the doctor and she can give you the results"

The technician wraps up his cables and as he leaves the room he tells Kate that she can sit up in the chair if she wishes

Kate is alone for several minutes when the door opens and the Pa enters back in "Sorry, Kay but the doctor got called in for an emergency delivery and had to go to the hospital. We will get the lab results and get them over to your apartment later. OK?"

"Yeah. Fine" Kate responds as she stands

Handing a card to Beckett "Here is your next appointment. It will probably be your last before having this baby"

Beckett takes the appointment slip "Thanks" and she leaves the center

Once outside she looks for her security detail and there he is on the bench waiting for her to leave the building

They get on the next bus and head out to the drop off point

When Beckett gets off the bus with LT right behind, she starts walking toward the corner where she knows her husband and Officer Hastings are waiting for her.

She gets into the unmarked cruiser and slides up beside her husband. She reaches into her blouse and turns off the switch to the wireless transmitter built into her bra

Ann Hastings looks back over the seat "Were to guys?"

Castle answers "We need to go to Beckett's OB/GYN's office for her real exam. Then I have a brief meeting at Black Pawn. They need some documents signed"

"On the way" Ann answers as she puts the car in gear and pulls out into New York traffic

Castle and Beckett's visit to the doctor is uneventful. Her regular doctor does all the same tests that were done at the Women's Center, but this time the couple feels much better about who is doing the exam.

After the entire physical exam, the lab tech does a sonogram just like the last one. After a few minutes the doctor reenters the exam room

"Kate. You are doing great. You blood pressure is well within norms. The baby seems healthy. He is very active. The sonogram tech said he kept trying to kick the probe

"Oh he is going to be athletic. He keeps trying to score a goal with my belly button"

Castle chuckles. "When Kate is asleep behind me, I can feel him kicking my back"

Beckett gently pokes Rick "She doesn't need to know how we sleep"

The room is filled with laughter

"Kate, I think you will be a mother within the next week or maybe two"

"Great. I am so ready" Beckett responds

They make another appointment with Kate's regular doctor then head back to the street

Once in the car Hastings asks again "Back to the SRO?"

"Ann, can you drop me off at Black Pawn then take Kate home? I will catch a cab back to the hotel"

The ride to Black Pawn is quiet with Kate's head on Rick's shoulder "Why so quiet Kate" he asks

"I am so close to becoming a mother. I am a little frightened"

"Nothing to be afraid of. You will be amazing mom"

She is still silent "You are still too quiet. What else Kate?"

"I was sitting in that waiting room thinking about us. How 'US' came to be and how lucky I am having you in my life and…"

"You can stop talking. I am the lucky one here. I wonder sometimes why you dropped your barriers and let me in"

She lifts her face to him "Because you helped me through so much and you have stayed with me even though I look like the Goodyear Blimp"

"Do you have flashing lights on your underside too?"

He feels her laugh being suppressed then a finger poking him

Moments later they pull up to the front of the building housing Rick's publisher. As he gets out "I should only be about thirty minutes" he gives Kate a goodbye kiss and they cruiser pulls back into traffic

Castle's meeting takes every bit of the thirty minutes he predicted and he is on his way back to the hotel. He has the driver drop him off at the back entrance and he goes to his room.

He opens the secret door to the room that is Kay Houghton's room to find it empty. He calls out for Kate but gets no answer.

He takes out his phone and dials Ann Hastings. She answers on the second ring

"Ann, did you drop Beckett at the SRO?"

"Yeah. About forty-five minutes ago. Why?

"She is not in her room and I don't see her on any cameras. Are you sure she went in?"

"Oh yes. I dropped her off a block away then waited until she went in. Then I parked my cruiser and went to the surveillance van and have been in here ever since then"

"Let me check the man in 4B, Eddie, and see if he has seen her"

Castle drops the call then rushes up the stairs. He pounds on the man's door to hear a muffled "just a minute"

Impatiently Castle waits for what feels like hours for the man to open the door. When he does, Castle can tell that Eddie is suffering. He is flushed and his eyes look weak like he is running a fever

"Oh, hey Rick" he rasps out

"Eddie. Have you seen Kate…I mean Kay?"

"No. I have been home with the flu. I came down with it a couple of days ago. Why?"

"Oh I just thought she might be here"

His voice is weak and raspy "I would have not let her in if I had seen her. I wouldn't want her to get this just before the baby comes"

"OK Thanks" Castle rushes back to his room to look at the monitors

Once inside, he again rewinds the images to right after Kate was brought back to hotel. He begins the playback just as Kate enters the lobby. She has punched the button for the elevator and is waiting when he sees another person walk up to her. It appears to be a woman and they are talking.

Kate can be seen shaking her head no when the woman grabs Kate's arm and begins to pull her toward the back hallway. During the struggle Beckett's bag lands on the floor and what appears to be man appears from around the corner and is putting something on Kate's mouth. Within seconds, Kate goes limp and the two people carry her out the back hallway of the hotel

Castle grabs his cell phone and speed calls Ryan "KEVIN. THEY TOOK KATE!" Rick screams into his phone

As Castle tells Ryan what he saw on the monitors, he rushes downstairs to the lobby where he finds Kate's bag on the floor with her fake id and cell phone inside. The emergency key fob is also in the bag

Rick looks around the empty lobby.

Tears are welling up in his eyes

* * *

 **I know. Last weekend I left you all happy.**

 **Sorry about this one**


	19. Chapter 19

Richard Castle has never felt as helpless in his entire life as he does this very moment. He dials Ryan's phone again. Kevin answers before the first ring finishes

"DID YOU FIND HER, CASTLE?" It is obvious that Kevin Ryan is almost as panicked as Rick

"No Kevin, I can't find her. Her bag is on the floor in the lobby. All her stuff is still inside. Including her emergency key fob and her covert phone"

Castle takes a breath as he is rushing back up the stairs to the observation room to look at more of the video from the cameras.

"The lobby camera showed someone…it looked like a woman that she was talking to when Kate shook her head as if to say No, then a man came up behind her and put something over her mouth and she went limp. They carried her out of the back. Kevin they have her"

"Castle we will find her. I have already alerted the entire precinct. Everyone is either going over traffic cams or looking into the workers at the clinic"

"Kevin that is not enough. We need to do more"

"Rick. I promise we are doing everything we can. We will find her"

"Kevin!. Get patrol cars out the homes of the employees of the center. Search their houses. Contact he state police…"

"Castle! Slow down. We can't go force our way into someone's home without a warrant!"

"Then raid the women's center"

"We are doing everything here. You go back and look at the cameras and we will have tech send someone out to help you"

"OK Ryan" Castle tries to slow his heart rate down a little "What about the workers? What did they find on the workers? Did you get the background checks back?"

"Those are still coming in…wait a minute, here comes Espo and he may have something"

Ryan puts his phone on speaker and Castle can hear Javi give the information he has "The doctor is still at the hospital delivering a baby, so she can't be the one who took Beckett"

"What else?" The tone in Castle's voice is becoming more panicked by the moment

"The technician that does the sonograms is still at the center. So he can not be the man you saw on the camera"

"OK! That leaves the physician's assistant…Terry…Terry Winton. She must be the one who has been doing this"

"She may be involved now but I don't think so"

Castle has finally back in the room looking again at the images from the cameras "WHY?" is his panicked response

"She has only been working at the center for six months. She just got out of college so she could not have been involved in the other murders"

"Guys, we have to do something…Kate has been taken and they are going to kill her and take the baby"

Esposito and Ryan are both equally worried about their partner

"Castle! Everyone here is working on this and no one is going to stop until we find her" Esposito remarks

Castle decides that panicking will not help his wife "OK guys. I am looking at the video again. Can you dig deeper into the staff? Maybe it is someone we do not expect. Maybe the janitor is the one who is doing this"

"We're on it" Ryan states

Castle hangs up on the call and starts looking at the video again trying to determine who the man or woman are. He is not having any luck. The woman keeps her back to the camera the entire time and the man is only seen for a moment as he jumps in behind Kate.

There is knock on the door that startles Castle. He stands and rushes to open the door. Hoping to see his wife, but he is disappointed to see Tori standing in the hallway

"Tori! Glad you are here" Castle almost drags her into the unit "Maybe you can get a better image on these…" he points toward the monitors "so we can tell who it is and find out who took Kate"

Tori takes a hold of Castle's arm "Rick. Try to calm down. Let me see what I can do OK?"

He shakes his head and allows the specialist do her job

"I am going to go down and try to see if I missed anything" Castle turns and rushes out of the room and, again, runs down the stairs

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The last thing Kate remembers is responding "NO" to whomever was telling her that the baby was in distress and the tests indicated that she needed to come into the center immediately for an emergency delivery.

Her addled brain remembers very well that after her appointment with the clinic doctor, Beckett and Castle went to her regular physician and she told the couple that Kate and the baby were in perfect health. So why was this happening?

Kate tries to shake her brain out of the fog created by the chloroform being placed over her mouth taking her to unconsciousness

Looking around the room she knows that she is definitely NOT in an professional medical facility. The walls are bare, she is lying on a stainless steel table and the lights on the ceiling are regular florescent fixtures like you would have in an office or retail store.

She quickly realizes her hands and feet are tied and she cannot fight herself loose.

She closes her eyes and tries to shake the cobwebs from her brain again that the anesthetic has caused.

As her mind clears she suddenly realizes who the woman was that tried to tell her the baby was in danger

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Richard Castle has combed the lobby area for the three dozens time. Still not finding any more clues he decides that the CSU team will have a better chance of locating some evidence than he will. He goes back to the observation room to see if Tori has had any better luck with the video

As he opens the door, he is already asking "Have you been able to get anything more?"

"Well, the woman looks at the camera for about five seconds and I have a capture for you to look at. Does she look familiar?"

Castle gazes at the computer image for several seconds "No. I don't remember her from anywhere"

"OK then let me bring up a better image of the man. Have you seen him?"

Once more Castle stares at the screen "Yes. I think so. He looks familiar…"

"Do you know where you saw him or when?"

There is a pause then a light seems to go on in Castle's head "YES! Yes, I saw him going into the clinic one time I was there"

"Was he a delivery man or a drug detail man?"

"No. He seemed like he was going in like someone who worked there or was going to see someone in the center"

"Well I have already sent the image to the lab to let them use the big computers to try for a facial recognition. The machines there are so much faster than I can do from here"

Castle takes a deep breath and he then softly looks at the technician "Thank you Tori. I know you are doing everything you can"

Castle still feels like his world is crashing in on him

Tori asks one more question "Does Kate have another cell phone I might be able to ping?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kate's mind has returned to its normal level. A woman tried to convince her that the baby was in distress.

The receptionist! The very woman who seemed so condescending and non caring about Kate as a patient

Beckett hears the door open and the silhouette of a woman and another person, apparently a man, enter the room

When the pair get closer Beckett comments "Well Yolanda Bradford. So. you are the one killing women and steeling babies?"

Sorry Kay but this is what has to happen…"

Before Yolanda can finish her sentence the man speaks up

"YOLANDA! THIS IS A COP"

"What do you mean a cop?"

"Her name is Kay Houghton"

The man seems very worried "NO. Her name is Kate Beckett and she is a detective with homicide"

"She said she was single and knocked up. The baby daddy is in prison. I verified the information" Yolanda states

"No I have met her and her husband. She has the entire police force behind her"

The woman is panicked "What do we do now?"

There is a slight delay in the answer "We proceed as before but this time we get out of town and never look back"

* * *

 **I think one more should do me**


	20. Chapter 20

**Stay Calm Everyone**

* * *

Richard Castle is feeling more and more unneeded. He also feels as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He wants to move but is afraid that he will hinder the rescue being planned to get his wife back

The tactical team is staging in the basement of the 12th precinct preparing to head out for the raid. The raid that should bring the love of his life and their unborn child home.

And soon

Fortunately earlier, Tori made a remark to Castle that brought him out of his panic long enough to remember that he had installed an active tracking program on Kate's personal phone and fortunately she did keep it in the special pocket of her maternity bra.

They have an address where she is. Or at least her phone. Castle prays that it is still in her bra where it belongs and that she is still alive.

Captain Gates begins instructing the team "Listen up everyone. This one is special. Not only is she one of our own, but she is almost full term, 9 months pregnant. When we get there we need to be cautious and not alert the suspects of our presence until absolutely necessary"

Victoria Gates takes a pause "I will let Captain Rosen handle the details"

A tall, obviously well-toned man, wearing combat gear, steps in front "We have the intelligence team watching at the building now. They have reported seeing three people enter the building"

He places a photograph on the board behind him "This woman has been positively identified as the woman who took Beckett. She works for the center as the receptionist. Her name is Yolanda Bradford. The man that we assume was also involved in the abduction has been positively identified as her husband Allen Bradford. He works for East States Medical supply, who just happens to rent this building as a warehouse"

The captain places Allen's picture on the board for everyone to see

"A second man, much older, has also been seen entering and leaving the building. We are waiting for a photo of him to come in for identification"

The captain looks at Rick. What he sees is a man worried beyond anything he has personally seen before when dealing in hostage situations. He knows the history behind the romance of the detective and writer and how much she means to Castle

"The phone locate programs are only accurate every fifteen minutes so Mr. Castle has an active track program installed on Beckett's telephone so he could always know where she was. And because of that, we know her phone is located in this building"

The captain points to another photograph on the board with images of the building from all sides. "Unfortunately it is a multi-story building and the locator does not give us an altitude reading as to what floor it is on. We will be extra diligent in entering so as to not spook the person or persons inside"

He again looks at Rick trying to extend confidence in the ability of the team to recover her and the baby unharmed

"We will split into three teams. Team one will stage at the rear dock area and wait for the order to breach. The second team will set up at the side door where the cars are parked and I will lead team three to enter the front"

Just as the captain finishes his briefing another officer brings him the copies of the picture of the man seen entering the building "I have the picture of the second man" The captain says as he passes the photo around starting with his lieutenant.

The building is a medical supply company. That might mean they have all the things they need to deliver the baby. We plan to get in there before they can do that or do any harm to Officer Beckett"

Once the photo reaches Richard Castle he is obviously shocked by what he sees "CAPTAIN ROSEN! I know who this is"

The senior tactical officers responds "You do? Who is he and how do you know him?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kate Beckett suddenly feels a cramp in her stomach like the baby kicking but more like a muscle cramp "Oooh!" She exclaims out loud "That was weird"

The woman turns toward Beckett "What was weird?"

"I just had a stomach cramp…a pretty strong one"

The woman goes to a rolling table beside the table where Beckett is restrained and she gets a probe and places it on Beckett's stomach. She connects the wire to a machine and turns it on. Yolanda Bradford walks out of the room leaving Beckett alone.

Kate uses the opportunity to give her surroundings another more through look trying to find something that will help her escape. She suddenly feels a vibration under her arm where her personal phone is in the pouch. She remembers the fact that Castle has set up an active tracking in this device. She is hoping the vibration is a signal from her husband letting her know he knows where she is and help is on the way to her location

After several minutes, Beckett guesses about fifteen, the corridor door opens and Yolanda enters the room escorted by another man that she does not remember seeing before. This man appears to be about the same age as Yolanda.

The man is talking to the woman "She is probably just saying that she is having contractions"

As they step up beside her Beckett feels another strong cramp coming on. The machine that Yolanda connected to Beckett beeps indicates it is reading the event,

Yolanda points to the machine "That is a real contraction"

The man responds "So it is. Well then we don't have to induce labor. We will just wait until she delivers" He turns and exits the room

The woman looks at the monitor then to Beckett "It will not be long now"

"Yolanda. You know that I'm a cop and the entire New York police force is out there looking for me. If you let me go and call, I will tell them that you cooperated"

Beckett can tell the woman is not completely into this situation "I am sorry, Kay…or whatever your name is, but my husband and I need the money"

"If you do this…if you take my baby and kill me you will spend the rest of your life running and all the money in the world will not help you"

Beckett sees the woman is thinking about what she just told the woman. This is when she turns and walks out the door

Just as the door closes Kate feels another, stronger contraction

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As the SWAT team is leaving, Castle is getting onto Esposito and Ryan's cruiser. Just as they begin to pull out they see Dr. Parish running toward them carrying a medical bag. She opens the back door and jumps in

"Lanie, what are you doing here?" Castle asks

"My girl is almost full term and I am going to make sure her and the baby are OK"

The moment the door closes Ryan slams the cruiser into gear and running with red lights they pull out of the garage

"Call and have an ambulance on standby just in case we need them" Lanie states

"Already happening" Esposito responds "It's SOP in situations like this. They will be staged nearby"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

After the latest contraction subsides, Beckett realizes that this baby is going to come sooner than later. She catches her breath after her stomach relaxes and tries once more to find an escape. The corridor door opens once again and the woman enters. This time she is wearing a surgical gown

She looks at the monitor "That was a strong one! This baby is going to be here very

soon"

"You don't have to do this, Yolanda. You can help yourself. Call 911 and tell them I am here. They will send help and you will help yourself"

Again Beckett can tell the woman is listening but he is not convinced "My husband is out there in the office and he will not let me do that"

"Listen. He doesn't have to know"

"How would he not know?" Beckett can tell the woman is considering the situation "I can't go in there and call the police. He will know"

Beckett is not sure if she should do this or not "Yolanda, I have a phone in a pouch of my bra. You can take it out and use it to call. You need to think about yourself"

"You have a cell phone on you?"

"Yes and I can tell you that officers are already on their way here. If you help by calling in, things will go better for you"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The team is all set up and ready to enter. The captain calls on the radio "We are entering the front. All units be on guard for anyone trying to escape"

He turns to Castle. "I know you always want to go in, but please let us enter first and you stay behind. OK?"

Castle shakes his head and watches at the tactical team opens the front and the squad enter followed by Ryan and Esposito. Just as Espo enters, he looks back to Castle "follow me"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

When the voices are heard in the hallway screaming "GET DOWN! NOW! ON YOUR KNEES!"

Beckett is looking at the woman who has taken the cell from the carry pouch and is on the phone with the 911 dispatcher giving them the necessary intelligence as to where in the building they are located.

Moments later the door opens and the team enters finding Beckett in the throws of another contraction and the woman holding her arms up with the phone in her hand

Moments later Castle and Dr. Parish are in the room. Castle is removing the restraints from his wife and Lanie is checking the monitor.

She turns to Esposito "Get the paramedics up here and tell them to bring a delivery kit with them"

She looks at Kate "We will be having a little Castle before the hour is up"

* * *

 **The epilogue will fill in the blanks**


	21. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

* * *

At one point in his past, Castle had told Beckett about when he was handed this tiny little person. How, when she was placed in his arms, he was instantly in love. A love unmatched by anything else before

Kate Beckett-Castle now knows that feeling herself. How can such a tiny person bring out so much love without trying or even being able to say or do anything that but just be who they are.

As a new mother. Kate is siting up in her hospital bed at Women's and Children's Memorial Hospital holding her son and just looking at him. She cannot seem to take her eyes off this tiny creature pressed into her arms

The smile on her face is lighting up the entire room "So you are the one who has been playing kickball on my bladder these last few weeks?"

As if he can really understand the comment, his mouth turns up into a smile

The room door opens and her husband enters the suite carrying a few items. First a vase of flowers. Then Also a cup of coffee and finally a book. The book has a soft cover and the words on the front are in blue "Our Baby's Story" om script across the cover

"Say hello to your daddy" Kate looks at her husband then back to the tiny infant "Richard James Castle…this is your father" Kate smiles back to the baby boy snuggled against her breast

"How are two of my favorite people doing?" He says with an almost singing in his voice

"We are doing very well, thank you, daddy" Kate responds without taking her eyes off the baby

Castle places the flowers on the bed stand. Then he sets. The coffee on the tray table next to Kate's water glass

"Can I take him so you can have some real coffee?" Rick holds his arms out toward the child

Kate is a little surprised herself when she realizes that she actually does not want to let him out of her arms. But it is only right to allow his father to hold him and she has been caffeine deprived for so long she is wanting to get at least a sip of the hot liquid waiting for her on the table.

Rick has sat beck down in the rocking chair next to the bed and is now doing what his wife was so engrossed in when he came in the room

There is a gentle knock on the door and Kate tells the visitor to come in

When the door swings open the first person to enter is the doctor who delivered the latest addition to the Castle family, Dr., Lanie Parish. She is followed quickly by Esposito and then Jennie Ryan followed by Kevin then, finally, Captain Gates

Each one is carrying a little gift for the baby. Small stuffed animals, A onesie, and some toys that will take a few years before he will play with them. One of the toys is a small New York Police car complete with working lights and a siren. They even put a 12th Precinct decal on the vehicle

As she watches the team entering her room Kate comments "Wow! Is anyone watching the city?" She has a laugh in her voice

"Yeah. But we had to bring in officers from the other precincts to cover, since I think everyone else is waiting down the hall in the family room" Victoria Gates answers

Ryan comments next "The hospital staff are wanting to know who the dignitary is that the NYPD are here in force to protect"

"What did you tell them Kevin?" Beckett asks

"OH. Personal friends of the mayor and the latest addition to the 12th homicide squad" Esposito answers

Lanie has already walked over and is standing beside Castle "Can I hold the baby?" she almost whines

Castle does not want to let go of his baby. His little boy. The child that he created along with the love of his life. He looks over to his wife and sees her smiling at her two men.

But he knows that he has the rest of his life to hold the child. To love the child. To let the child raise him just like Alexis did

"Of course" Castle responds as she reaches down to take the little boy from him

After several minutes of loving and each one getting to hold the boy that even included Esposito taking a turn, the group move to the door and tell Kate that they are giving her some rest.

Once again the parents are alone with their baby boy, who is still sleeping in his crib

Forcing herself to look away from her baby, Kate turns to her husband "Rick, you never told me the connection to all this. The killers I mean"

Castle sits down next to Kate when she finishes her comment

"I saw Marcus Vincent come in the room. He recognized me. What was his connection to all this?"

"Marcus is the father of Yolanda Bradford. He had been managing these upscale restaurants for years. During that time he met many very rich couples who had wanted children. When Rhonda Abernathy got pregnant he tried to get her to give the baby up to one of the couples. They were willing to pay anything to have a child"

Kate comments "They all had the money they needed to do that"

"Right. But she would not give her baby up. So Vincent hatched up a plan to take the baby and sell it to the couples. His son in law worked at the medical supply company and had access to all the equipment they needed"

"Right! And his daughter worked as the receptionist in a women's clinic…"

"And since she had access to the files on the women…"

"She knew who had husbands and who did not" Kate completes the thought

"So she watched the records and when the women were close to delivery like me…"

"She would go tell the women there was a problem like she came into the lobby telling me that there was something wrong with my baby"

"But we had just come from your regular doctor who confirmed everything was fine"

"I fought with her but her husband came up behind me and knocked me out"

"They stole a lot of babies and made a lot of money for several years"

"Are the guys looking into their little scheme?"

"Yes. After getting a confession from Yolanda, Gates was able to get a search warrant for the records from the women's center related to the victims. They are trying to locate family of the women…"

"Are they trying to locate the babies?"

"Yeah, but that is going to be an emotional issue. I am glad that is the job of social services…"

"…and the DA" Kate finishes

The two have just realized they have returned to their usual foreplay and both are enjoying it very much

"I am glad we can still work on this same page" Castle responds

Kate takes her husband's hand and pulls it to her chest "Thank you for coming for me"

He leans over and gives her a soft kiss

"Always"

* * *

 **Another finished**

 **Thanks for reading and following**

 **I do have a plan but I need to fill in some gaps before I start posting**

 **So join me soon (I hope)**

 **A Murder at the ?  
**


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